Chapter 7: Misunderstanding

Feng Yi’s memory goes way back, and he vividly recalls his early years.

He remembers the disdainful gaze of his mother and the displeasure in the expressions of his maternal grandparents.

They all disliked him, scolding, pinching, and hitting him, yet no one taught him how to speak. Consequently, at that time, he couldn’t understand the words spoken by those around him.

Even so, he knew he was an unlikeable person.

Most of the time, he was isolated in the woodshed, unsure of what he could do. He would silently chew on the rice straw and savour its sweetness.

He liked the taste of straw.

At the age of four, his mother remarried, bringing him to the Feng family.

Before that, he had hardly stepped outside. Suddenly thrust into a completely unfamiliar place, he felt extreme fear, especially towards the imposing figures of Old Feng, Second Feng, and Third Feng.

He couldn’t speak, and he didn’t understand the conversations around him. He could only tremble, allowing Big Feng to pinch his arm and Second Feng to push him down.

He dared not resist; he couldn’t resist. For a four-year-old, Big Feng and Second Feng were too towering.

He truly was an unlikeable person, and nobody liked him.

He couldn’t articulate his emotions at that time, only knowing it was extremely painful. Just when he thought he might be beaten to death, Jiang Liyun stepped in, preventing Big Feng and Second Feng from bullying him.

He didn’t understand what Jiang Liyun said at the time, but he clearly remembered her appearance.

At that time, it was winter. Five-year-old Jiang Liyun, wearing an old cotton-padded jacket with a short haircut, had a small, red, cracked face, and there was even a runny nose below her nose.

Compared to Feng Lao Da and Feng Lao Er, Jiang Liyun seemed very small, but she wasn’t afraid of them at all.

Feng Yi inexplicably felt that Jiang Liyun was very tall.

The tall Jiang Liyun held his hand and took him to her home, then pulled out a small handful of pumpkin seeds from her pocket, peeled them, and fed them to him.

He could feel that Jiang Liyun liked him.

Being that big, only Jiang Liyun liked him.

At that time, Feng Yi didn’t think about anything else; he just wanted to follow Jiang Liyun.

Jiang Liyun was willing to be followed by him, and he even taught him to speak!

Before that, he couldn’t speak at all. It was Jiang Liyun who, sentence by sentence, taught him to speak and taught him to call her sister.

Jiang Liyun said she wanted younger siblings, but since she didn’t have any biological ones, she treated him as her real younger brother.

He was very fortunate and happy. He was willing to be Jiang Liyun’s younger brother.

That was his happiest time.

Feng’s family didn’t like him, but they didn’t restrict him either. He just followed Jiang Liyun all day.

When Jiang Liyun grew a bit older and was assigned the task of cutting grass, he also took a basket and cut grass with Jiang Liyun.

Jiang Liyun introduced him to various things in the world and took him to find various kinds of food. When he couldn’t cut enough grass, Jiang Liyun would still share some with him.

Later, when Jiang Liyun had to go to school, he followed along.

Feng’s family didn’t pay his tuition, so he couldn’t attend classes; he hid under Jiang Liyun’s desk.

The teacher was well aware of his family’s situation. In the end, the teacher pulled him out from under the desk and made him sit next to Jiang Liyun during class. Of course, he didn’t have any textbooks.

The teacher warned him that if he made a sound, he would be kicked out.

He certainly wouldn’t make a sound! He wanted to be with Jiang Liyun!

He followed Jiang Liyun for three years of classes. When Jiang Liyun was in class, he sat silently besides her. After Jiang Liyun finished class, he followed her around to play.

Later, Jiang Liyun’s mother became pregnant.

At that time, he was very worried, afraid that after Jiang Liyun had biological siblings, she wouldn’t want him anymore.

His worry came true.

After Jiang Liyun’s sister was born, she stopped coming to play with him.

By then, he was ten years old, and Feng’s family started making him work. He didn’t have much time to see Jiang Liyun.

But he could still see her every day. Occasionally, Jiang Liyun would still take her sister and go cut grass or catch fish with him.

At that time, he was still happy.

However, as time passed, both he and Jiang Liyun grew up.

Jiang Liyun became more beautiful as she grew older. In his eyes, she was the most beautiful and dazzling person in the world.

He liked Jiang Liyun; he liked her very, very much.

But Jiang Liyun went to work at a sofa factory, and their contact became less frequent.

When he went to find Jiang Liyun after she finished work, she was always busy with various things. He could only silently help on the side and couldn’t say much.

Later, he also went to work at a cement factory.

On the first night working at the cement factory, he secretly came back to find Jiang Liyun.

Jiang Liyun was a bit surprised to see him. “Why are you back? If you’ve gone to the cement factory, don’t come back at night. Otherwise, if Feng’s family sees you so energetic, they’ll make you work at night.”

As she spoke, Jiang Liyun held her sister. She spoke gently to her, showing affection for her younger sister.

He felt uneasy and wanted to go back to the cement factory, but ran into Feng Lao Er.

Feng Lao Er mocked him, calling him a tag-along who only knew how to follow Jiang Liyun. He said Jiang Liyun was annoyed by his presence, that she had grown up, had a job, and would soon be looking for a partner. Feng Lao Er claimed having him around would make it difficult for Jiang Liyun to find someone.

He didn’t know how he made it back that day.

On his first day at the brick and tile factory, they didn’t assign much work to him. However, in the following days, he had more and more tasks to do.

After the factory recruited workers, anyone could come, but they initially hoped for the strong Feng Lao Da or Feng Lao Er.

Feng’s family sent him, the thin and small one, to the factory, and the factory was not pleased. People around him didn’t like him, calling him weak and saying he didn’t seem like a man. They joked that Feng’s family wouldn’t take him seriously and wouldn’t let him marry, predicting he would end up a lonely old bachelor.

It was during that time that he began contemplating deeper things, like marriage.

He liked Jiang Liyun, not in a brotherly way, but as a man liking a woman.

The thought of Jiang Liyun marrying someone else made him uncomfortable.

However, he realised clearly that he couldn’t marry Jiang Liyun. He didn’t even have a proper place to live; at Feng’s house, he could only sleep in the woodshed.

He had no money; his wages from the brick and tile factory went directly to his stepfather.

Why would Jiang Liyun marry him?

Moreover, Jiang Liyun saw him as a brother; she wouldn’t have romantic feelings for him.

No, especially now that Jiang Liyun has a biological sister; she probably wouldn’t want him as a pretend brother anymore.

Jiang Liyun was so good; she would surely have many suitors. One day, she might have a partner.

He felt especially uneasy; when he saw Jiang Liyun again, he had a lot to say.

But when Jiang Liyun saw him, she greeted him quickly and left in a hurry.

He knew they had grown up; they needed to avoid suspicions. If he continued following Jiang Liyun, people in the village might mock her.

In the past, villagers liked to say he was Jiang Liyun’s little husband. When they were younger, it was fine, but now that they were grown up, such words could tarnish Jiang Liyun’s reputation.

Jiang Liyun was so good; she would surely marry someone wealthy and capable. It was impossible for her to be with him.

After that, he would still find ways to see Jiang Liyun, but he didn’t dare show any emotions.

They were like ordinary neighbours, exchanging greetings when they met and then going about their own business.

As for helping Jiang Liyun with farm work, he learned that most of the farming tasks at Jiang’s house were done by Jiang Liyun when he went to Feng’s house to get food.

Feng Lao Er had an interest in Jiang Liyun. When he wanted to help Jiang Liyun with farm work, Feng Lao Tou stopped him. Feng Lao Tou felt that Jiang’s family had too much burden, and since Jiang Liyun was so focused on her family, after marriage, she would likely take their things to her family. Feng Lao Tou was unwilling to let Feng Lao Er marry Jiang Liyun.

Feng Lao Tou also felt that Jiang Liyun had a high spirit and wouldn’t look favourably upon the Feng family. Even though the Feng family was a bit better than the Jiang family, it wasn’t that great. The previous wife of Feng Lao Tou bore him two sons, and Feng Yi’s mother, after marrying him, gave birth to a son and a daughter. With three sons to marry off, Feng Lao Tou felt immense pressure.

As for him, Feng Lao Tou would never provide a dowry for him or take care of his marriage affairs.

Feng Lao Er ultimately didn’t go to help Jiang Liyun, but one night he helped her harvest rice.

He was afraid of gossip, so he went in the middle of the night when no one was around. Unexpectedly, Jiang Liyun guessed it was him and even sent him fried eggs.

The fried eggs even had meat in them!

Since Feng Yi started working at the brick and tile factory, he could eat relatively well. Previously, at Feng’s house, Feng Lao Tou didn’t like him eating too much. However, after he started working at the factory, Feng Lao Tou couldn’t provide less food for him; that would bring criticism to the Feng family. So, at least he could eat enough.

As for buying vegetables, ten yuan wasn’t enough for him to buy enough for every meal, but it was enough for him to buy a portion of vegetables every day, split into two meals.

Moreover, there were people at the brick and tile factory who didn’t like him, but some older individuals pitied him and took care of him. For example, they would share some pickled vegetables brought from home with him.

Also, Jiang Liyun had taken him around since childhood to find food. Sometimes they would help others with work in exchange for food. He remembered all these experiences.

Whenever he had time, he would help out at the cafeteria, and people there would also give him some food. For instance, when the factory leaders ate soybeans stewed with pig’s trotters, they would share some soybeans with him.

In the past few years, he hadn’t gone hungry, but this fragrant and delicious fried egg was still something he rarely enjoyed.

And since it was made by Jiang Liyun…

Feng Yi felt that this was the most delicious egg he had ever eaten in his life.

“Does Liyun have something to talk to you about?” Jiang Lihai asked Feng Yi.

Feng Yi pushed the egg to the side of his cheek with his tongue and said, “Nothing special.”

Jiang Lihai wasn’t particularly curious about Jiang Liyun talking to Feng Yi. Being five years older than Jiang Liyun, he had watched them grow up and knew that they had a good relationship. It was quite normal for his sister to talk to Feng Yi.

He shifted the conversation, saying, “Today, they slaughtered chickens at the factory. It smelled so good, but unfortunately, we can only have some chicken blood.”

In recent years, with the construction boom in the nearby major cities requiring a significant amount of bricks and tiles, the factory’s production couldn’t meet the demand. After the factory’s profitability improved, not only did they receive higher wages, but the leaders also enjoyed good food and drinks every day.

The cafeteria served dishes like tofu soup and braised tofu, which were mostly vegetarian and affordable. However, the leaders were treated to special dishes, including meat. Today, they slaughtered a few chickens.

The factory workers envied them, but they could only watch from afar.

Feng Yi often went hungry, so he naturally desired to eat chicken. However, today he had fried eggs!

Thinking about it, Feng Yi felt happy.

“Xie Zugen has no real skills, yet he eats well and drinks well every day. It’s really unfair!” Jiang Lihai added.

In the brick and tile factory, the person Jiang Lihai disliked the most was Xie Zugen, who was of the same age. Xie Zugen wandered around the factory every day, not doing much work but still receiving the wages of the transportation team.

As for Feng Yi? He couldn’t even get into the transportation team!

Entering the transportation team required connections, but the Jiang family had none. Moreover, his wages were spent by his family.

In the factory, most unmarried young men usually handed over their wages, and their parents saved the money to help them get married. However, for him, after handing over his wages, they were used for his mother’s medical treatment and buying medicine, leaving him with nothing.

He had a girlfriend and wanted to get married a long time ago, but his family couldn’t afford a dowry, and they had no money to build a new house.

Xie Zugen, similarly without a girlfriend, had a completely different situation. He couldn’t afford to marry, but Xie Zugen was picky. The brand-new two-story building and tiled rooms at the Xie family home made many girls want to marry him. It was the Xie family’s discerning nature that kept Xie Zugen from marrying.

If he had been born into the Xie family, he probably wouldn’t be doing bricklaying now. Perhaps he has graduated from university and already secured a stable job in the city.

Jiang Lihai had always disliked Xie Zugen and complained to Feng Yi in a low voice, “Do you know? When Xie Zugen eats in town, he brings back the receipts to the factory for reimbursement. He treats the brick and tile factory like his own.”

As they were talking, Xie Zugen walked towards them.

Jiang Lihai stopped talking and stood up straight, looking at Xie Zugen.

Xie Zugen smiled at Jiang Lihai, who was considerably taller than him. “Jiang Lihai, I heard your second sister is here. Why didn’t she come to find me?”

Jiang Lihai was taken aback. “Find you for what?”

Xie Zugen smiled again.

A villager from the same village as Xie Zugen looked at Jiang Lihai. “Your sister watched a movie with Xie Zugen last night.”

Then he turned to Xie Zugen and said, “Xie Zugen, she just met you. It’s impossible for her to come find you. I think, coming here, she’s most likely just inquiring about your situation.”

The brick and tile factory wasn’t far from Xie Zugen’s village, and last night, Xie Zugen’s village had a movie screening. Many people from the brick and tile factory went to watch it.

They all knew Xie Zugen, and as for Jiang Liyun, being from the same commune, it was easy to enquire and find out who she was. Since Xie Zugen and Jiang Liyun watched a movie together yesterday, there was a high probability that Jiang Liyun came to the brick and tile factory today to enquire about Xie Zugen.

The workers at the factory began to tease, “Xie Zugen, is Jiang Liyun very beautiful?”

“The Jiang sisters are all good-looking.”

“If this works out, Jiang Lihai will be your brother-in-law!”

“Xie Zugen, Jiang Liyun came all the way to the brick and tile factory today. She’s very interested in you!”

“Jiang Lihai, what did your sister say to you?”

Jiang Lihai was surrounded by these people, his face turning red with a mix of anger and frustration.

Feng Yi stood next to Jiang Lihai, keeping his head down and not saying anything.

If Jiang Liyun suddenly came to find him and brought him fried eggs, was it to enquire about Xie Zugen?

Suddenly, he felt the fried eggs in his mouth no longer tasted delicious; instead, there was a bit of bitterness.