Chapter 32

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Next Chapter: Chapter Thirty-Three

Ji Chen Zhou was staring blankly. He Xianqiu noticed and waved her hand a few times in front of his face before he finally came back to his senses.

He Xianqiu casually asked, “What are you daydreaming about?”

Ji Chen Zhou shook his head and said, “Nothing.”

He Xianqiu nodded and made a nonchalant “Mm” sound.

It was getting late, so she planned to leave Grandpa Zhong’s house. Ji Chen Zhou was going to take her back to the educated youth spot.

Before leaving, she handed Grandpa Zhong a bag of beef jerky. He didn’t stand on ceremony and accepted it with a beaming smile.

He Xianqiu and Ji Chen Zhou put all the things on the front rack of the bicycle, and Ji Chen Zhou pedaled toward the educated youth residence.

Since it was still light out, there were people wandering around the brigade, so Ji Chen Zhou took the small path instead.

Thinking of what happened last time on this path, He Xianqiu felt a bit embarrassed. Her cheeks flushed slightly. What happened before had been too awkward, making it hard for her to look directly at this little road.

Grandpa Zhong’s house wasn’t far from the educated youth place. Since they were riding, they arrived quickly.

Ji Chen Zhou stopped behind the educated youth residence and helped He Xianqiu unload her things.

He Xianqiu waved at him and watched as he rode off into the distance.

Then she started carrying her things inside bit by bit. At that time, the others at the educated youth point had just returned from working in the fields and were sitting in the main room. When they saw her bringing in a whole load of stuff, one of the male youths stood up to help her carry it.

He Xianqiu really was tired from carrying it all. She had only brought in a part of it so far, so she was more than happy to have help.

The male youths knew she still had things left outside, so they volunteered to help her carry everything in.

Everyone stared wide-eyed at the big and small baskets she brought in. There was so much—how much must this all have cost?

They had always known He Xianqiu had money, but they hadn’t expected she was this well-off.

He Xianqiu thanked them, then went into her dormitory. There were still some White Rabbit candies inside; she planned to give the candies and some jerky as thank-you gifts.

She arranged them nicely on a plate and carried it out to them.

Everyone in the main room looked at each other, but the allure of the jerky was too much. Soon, hands reached out to take it.

They all said He Xianqiu was too polite. She smiled and said it was only proper, which made them feel even more comfortable eating.

The jerky looked expensive, but since she nodded and said they could eat it, they didn’t hold back.

Those who didn’t have a good relationship with He Xianqiu were simply ignored. They could only stare at the jerky, drooling.

Yang Shuhua also really wanted to try some, but since He Xianqiu hadn’t offered it to her, she could only watch. She muttered under her breath that He Xianqiu was stingy, then walked away with a dark expression.

Her voice was quiet, but everyone else still heard it. For a moment, the people eating the jerky felt a bit awkward.

He Xianqiu acted like she hadn’t heard anything. She handed the plate to the male youths and returned to her dormitory.

She had been out the entire day and was exhausted. All she wanted now was a bath and a good night’s sleep.

Zhao Yaling watched her walk back into the dorm. For a moment, she regretted falling out with He Xianqiu so early.

Otherwise, she’d have been able to get some jerky too. Thinking about it made her heart ache.

Chen Changping felt that He Xianqiu had completely changed. Before, whenever she had something good to eat, she would save some for him. Now she didn’t give him anything at all.

He felt a little uncomfortable thinking about it.

After going back to her dormitory, He Xianqiu quickly put everything into her suitcase.

But the suitcase was too small, and some things still wouldn’t fit. Remembering how her things had been stolen before, she was really unwilling to leave anything out in the open.

It looked like she would have to find a carpenter to make her a big trunk. Otherwise, the two small suitcases really couldn’t hold much.

So she asked Zhang Zhijuan if there was anyone in the brigade who made furniture.

Zhang Zhijuan said there was: Carpenter Chen from their brigade. Since she’d just eaten some of He Xianqiu’s treats herself, she offered to take her over there.

He Xianqiu followed her to Carpenter Chen’s house. At that moment, he was working on some other furniture by his door.

She asked directly, “Uncle Chen, do you have any wooden trunks at home?”

Carpenter Chen nodded. “I have one, but I was planning to keep it for my family.”

Since she really needed it urgently, He Xianqiu said, “I need it right away. If I give you double, could I have it?”

At first, Carpenter Chen didn’t want to sell it, but when he heard she’d pay double, he hesitated and asked, “It costs fifty cents each, so double is one yuan. You’d have to give me a yuan’s worth of goods.”

At that time, you couldn’t trade cash privately, so you had to exchange things of equivalent value.

He Xianqiu thought for a moment. “I have meat coupons, soap coupons, grain coupons. Which would you prefer?”

When Carpenter Chen heard she had so many ration coupons, he was surprised. He thought about how long it had been since his family had eaten meat and decided he wanted the meat coupon.

“Do you have a one-catty meat coupon?”

He Xianqiu checked her little purse. She did. She nodded. “Yes.”

She handed the meat coupon to Carpenter Chen, who accepted it and went inside to bring out a wooden trunk.

She and Zhang Zhijuan carried the trunk back to the educated youth residence. After a while, they finally arrived at the dormitory.

He Xianqiu thanked Zhang Zhijuan. She smiled and said, “Don’t mention it, we’re all part of the same place.”

He Xianqiu put all her things into the trunk, arranging them neatly. She filled the bigger empty spaces with the high school textbooks that had been mailed to her.

The other people in the dorm kept watching her pack. They were envious when they saw she had five cans of milk powder, boxes of candies, chocolates, and other things.

Although He Xianqiu noticed their burning gazes, she pretended not to.

She remembered that the people in Beijing had also mailed her money, but with everyone around, she didn’t dare take it out to count. So she put the envelope with the money into her small suitcase and locked it inside the trunk.

The other small suitcase she set on top of the big trunk. It was locked too, after all.

When she was done tidying up, she went to the kitchen to heat water. The meals had already been cooked, and everyone was called out to eat.

Since He Xianqiu had already eaten her fill, she shook her head and said, “I’m not hungry, I won’t eat.” Everyone knew she’d just come back from the commune and probably had a good meal, so they didn’t insist.

When the water was hot, He Xianqiu went to bathe.

After her bath, she felt like all the dirt and tiredness had washed away. Her mood lightened.

She took a thermos of hot water back to the dorm.

The thermos was clean, and she had filled it with freshly boiled water, so it was safe to drink.

She opened one of the cans of milk powder, scooped out a few spoonfuls, and mixed it.

When it was ready, she took a sip. Her stomach felt warm, the milk was sweet and pleasant.

Tomorrow, she would bring a can to Grandpa Zhong. It would be good for an older person to have milk.

For Ji Chen Zhou, she’d bring some preserved fruits and a box of chocolates.

Speaking of chocolate, she opened a box and tried one piece. The taste was just so-so, not as good as the chocolates she used to eat.

It was a little sticky and had an odd flavor, lacking the rich milky aroma she liked.

After eating one, she didn’t want any more.

She used to eat many different kinds of chocolate—one box cost around 1,500 to 3,000 yuan. The flavor was excellent, but you never got very many pieces.

Since this chocolate didn’t appeal to her, she decided to give it all away. She would keep one box as a reward for the children she tutored.

After drinking the milk, He Xianqiu soon felt sleepy. She pulled up the covers and lay down to rest.

Before long, she was fast asleep. After the milk, she slept soundly and sweetly.

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The Next Day

In the morning, He Xianqiu was still asleep. She didn’t wake up until after ten.

By then, she was the only one left in the educated youth residence. Everyone else had gone to work in the fields.

Song Wenzhong, who was a teacher, didn’t have to go either, but since he wanted more work points, he had also gone to the fields on the weekend.

The educated youth spot was empty, but He Xianqiu really liked that peaceful time. Being alone helped her relax.

She hummed a song while she washed up. Afterward, she happily returned to her room.

She made a cup of milk and took out a packet of biscuits for breakfast.

Since she was the only one there, she locked the door, opened her small suitcase, and took out the envelope to count the money and coupons inside.

There was 500 yuan and a pile of coupons of every kind she might need. They had sent her everything.

She put them all into her money box, locked it, and put it back into her suitcase.

Her family in Beijing was so warmhearted. Afraid she wouldn’t have enough money or coupons, they’d sent her a lot. To be precise, they had sent them to the original supporting female character, but now she had become that person.

Although she had never met them, her heart felt warm.

In her mind, she had already started thinking of them as her own family. She had slowly begun to accept that she had become the supporting character in this story.

Now that everything was put away, He Xianqiu decided to go to Grandpa Zhong’s.

She took a basket and filled it with the things she wanted to bring, including the pork she’d bought two days ago.

She had kept it in cool water to store it, but it wouldn’t stay good much longer. She planned to cook it at Grandpa Zhong’s.

She had asked Ji Chen Zhou to pick pork that was evenly marbled with fat and lean parts. That kind of meat was especially delicious when roasted.

Thinking about it, she picked up her pace on the way to Grandpa Zhong’s house.

When she arrived, Grandpa Zhong was drying freshly gathered herbs. She set down her basket and went to help.

They spent a long time drying the herbs. By noon, when the sun was hottest, He Xianqiu’s face was bright red and she was sweating.

Once they finished, they hurried back inside. He Xianqiu walked quickly, afraid that if she went too slowly, she’d be in the sun longer.

Back inside, she sighed in relief. The house was cool and shady, easing the heat.

Even so, she still felt hot. She thought wistfully of the cool, refreshing air conditioning. If only there were air conditioning here. She sighed.

The weather was getting hotter and hotter. At night in the educated youth residence, it was so stuffy she could hardly sleep.

At times like this, she missed her air-conditioned room and the cold ice cream even more.