Chapter 7: He Was Too Striking

When Xu Meng arrived at the market, Zhang Guifen’s cart happened to be parked under a big tree.

Zhang Guifen was fanning herself with a palm-leaf fan while chatting with someone nearby.

The whole morning, she had only sold about ten watermelons, and four of those were bought by Feng Yanwen. As for doing business, Zhang Guifen didn’t actually think Feng Yanwen would be able to achieve anything remarkable, but when she saw Xu Meng standing in front of her with a bamboo basket on her back, she was still a little surprised.

Xu Meng approached with a smile on her face and handed over the money she owed for the watermelon earlier.

They were all one-yuan notes, easy to count—exactly sixteen of them.

Zhang Guifen opened her mouth in surprise. “You sold them all? How did you manage that? You sold them so quickly?”

It wasn’t that she looked down on Feng Yanwen, but watermelons weren’t easy to sell these days.

They were too big. Unless a family had a lot of members, who would buy an entire one? The fact that she had only sold a few all morning showed just how hard they were to move.

Xu Meng smiled and said, “Aunt Zhang, I’ll take four more. The ones from earlier were great, pick them like those.” She didn’t want to talk about business.

Business was business. This was her way of making a living for the time being. She was relying on selling watermelons to earn some spending money, and no matter how close their relationship was, at least for now, things needed to be kept clear. That was why she didn’t plan to ask Zhang Guifen to deliver them today.

Zhang Guifen was more than happy to sell four more watermelons and quickly began picking them out for her.

While Zhang Guifen was selecting the watermelons, Xu Meng took the chance to examine the little cart. Zhang Guifen was riding a small three-wheeled vehicle with a cargo bed. The bed could hold about twenty watermelons, and there was space in the back for two baskets, each of which could also hold two melons. Xu Meng was incredibly envious of people who had a cart—at the very least, even having a bicycle would be nice. That way, she wouldn’t have to rely on carrying everything in a basket on her back like this.

Soon, the four watermelons were picked out. This time, the ones Zhang Guifen chose weren’t as large as the previous batch. Weighed together, they came out to just over seventy jin (35 kg).

“I’ve put the bigger ones in your basket, and you can carry this smaller one in your arms,” Zhang Guifen said as she helped arrange the melons properly.

If Xu Meng hadn’t grown up doing chores at home, just carrying this one basket of watermelons could have flattened someone.

Xu Meng said, “Aunt Zhang, I need to trouble you with one more thing. Will you be back here selling melons tomorrow?”

Zhang Guifen perked up. “I will. Watermelons are starting to come into season now, so I’ll be out every day this month.”

Xu Meng said, “Then can you help me deliver some watermelons tomorrow morning? I won’t know the exact quantity until then.” She planned to have Zhang Guifen deliver them directly to her home.

Zhang Guifen quickly agreed. Every day, she had a set amount of melons she needed to sell. If they didn’t sell out, she would have to go around door to door until they were all gone before she could head home. She had to get up at five or six in the morning to go to the fields, and there was no fixed time for when she would get home at night. Only when she ran into a big customer could she return a little earlier.

If she could get home earlier, she could rest earlier—of course she would agree.

So the two of them discussed the delivery location, and once everything was decided, Zhang Guifen helped adjust Xu Meng’s basket and saw her off. Between Xu Meng and her mother, they took eight watermelons in one go. The cargo bed in the cart now looked noticeably emptier. Zhang Guifen figured she might be able to go home early today, and happily started humming a tune. In her mind, she was already calculating: if Xu Meng could take seven or eight watermelons every day, then she wouldn’t bother asking how they were being sold.

Xu Meng had four watermelons hanging from her, and at first, she didn’t think much of it—after all, she had carried three over that morning.

But as she walked, Xu Meng began to feel the weight on her back growing heavier and heavier. It was just one more watermelon, but it felt like the load had become much harder to bear.

Xu Meng wanted to take a break, but a carrying basket wasn’t like other things—without someone helping to hold it, it was nearly impossible to lift it back up again. So she could only keep thinking about the profit from selling watermelons. Although she hadn’t counted the money before leaving, she had already given Zhang Guifen what she owed, and Feng Yanwen still had a whole handful of bills in her pocket. That was all profit.

As long as she closed her eyes and thought of that money, Xu Meng felt strength returning to her body.

These days, what kind of work had higher profits and lower risks than running a small business?

Still, the road felt endlessly long. Even though she kept encouraging herself, Xu Meng was nearly out of breath. Just when she was about to reach her limit, someone called out, “Xu Meng!”

After turning a few corners, Han Lingling had bumped into her again.

At first, Han Lingling had called Xu Meng several times. When she got no response, she was about to get off the motorcycle to run after her. That was when Han Jiming noticed something was wrong. He got off and quickly went to support her. Fortunately, he was quick enough—otherwise all the watermelons would have fallen to the ground.

Han Jiming looked down and saw Xu Meng’s sweat-drenched face and her stunningly beautiful features.

By older generations’ standards, Xu Meng’s looks might have seemed too bold and showy, but by younger people’s standards, her beauty was breathtaking. Her skin was delicate and fair, her cheeks flushed with a rosy tint. When he had walked over just now, he hadn’t thought much of it, but at this moment, he found his breathing slightly quickening. Han Lingling’s nonstop chatter snapped him out of his thoughts.

“Uncle, is she suffering from heatstroke?”

“She’s fine, probably just got too much sun,” Han Jiming said as he opened the rear seat of the motorcycle and let Xu Meng sit down. Then he brought over a thermos. “Sit and rest for a bit. Have some water.”

Xu Meng had already recovered by now.

She took the thermos, unscrewed the lid, and tilted her head back to drink a few sips. Inside was a light salt and sugar solution.

After drinking, her body gradually started to feel better, and the color returned to her face. She no longer looked as pale as before. Only then did she look at the two people in front of her.

Han Lingling grinned at her, showing a full set of big white teeth. “Xu Meng, don’t you remember me? I’m Han Lingling. This is my uncle. You’re amazing, carrying so much all by yourself.”

Han Jiming nodded at her. When he saw her eyes—clear and bright, large and round, like the Persian cat they kept at home, full of curiosity—he found her expression a bit amusing, so he smiled.

Xu Meng turned her face away and asked Han Lingling, “How did you recognize me?”

In fact, she hadn’t seen Han Lingling in five years. She had changed quite a bit over the years. After just a few years apart in middle school, many of her classmates no longer recognized her.

“How could I not recognize you? We were so close,” Han Lingling said as she helped Xu Meng sit properly in the back seat. Then she and Han Jiming moved all the watermelons into the cart. After that, she hopped on behind Han Jiming and asked, “Where are you headed? We’ll give you a ride. Let’s chat on the way.”

———

After all that struggling earlier, Xu Meng no longer felt confident she could carry the watermelons the rest of the way.

So she gave them an address, and Han Jiming got back on the motorcycle and started driving toward the train station.

Han Lingling had actually been her classmate in elementary school, and Han Jiming was her uncle.

Although they were of different generations, there was probably only a four- or five-year age gap between them. When they were kids, Han Jiming had always been popular with the girls. He was handsome and always the most eye-catching one. In winter, when they went ice-skating at Shichahai, he was always the brightest presence on the ice. That lasted until sixth grade, when Xu Meng fell into the water while skating and ended up seriously ill. She had to rest for a few months, and by the time she visited the Han family again, she heard that Han Jiming had already transferred to another school.

As for later on, in middle school they ended up in different schools, and her relationship with Han Lingling gradually faded. The two of them stopped keeping in touch.

The Han family wasn’t just any ordinary household. They lived in the Shijia Alley^[1]“Alley” here refers to a hutong (胡同), a type of narrow alleyway commonly found in northern Chinese cities, especially Beijing. These alleys are lined with traditional courtyard houses and … Continue reading area, which had housed high-ranking officials and nobility since the Ming and Qing dynasties. In the late Qing period, the residence there had belonged to a prominent Han Chinese grand scholar. During the Republican era, it was also home to well-known figures from Beiping. After the liberation, those people fled, and the properties were taken over by the state. Once they were divided up, some were allocated to other families.

What the Han family received was a two-courtyard siheyuan^[2]A siheyuan (四合院) is a traditional Chinese residential compound commonly found in northern China, especially in Beijing. It consists of a central courtyard surrounded on all four sides by … Continue reading.

When Xu Meng was little, she hadn’t understood much. She just thought the Han family home was big and beautiful, like a park, and she loved going there to play. Fortunately, everyone in the Han family had been kind and welcoming.

Later, once she became more sensible, her visits grew fewer.

There was an invisible gulf between the two families—like how she was still dreaming of owning a bicycle, while Han Lingling was already riding a motorcycle and zipping around the streets.

Han Lingling asked, “What are you doing with watermelons at the train station?”

Xu Meng replied, “Just doing a little business over there.”

Han Lingling let out an “oh” and thought Xu Meng seemed full of energy. She suddenly smiled and said, “That’s great. I always wanted to do part-time work when I was a kid, but at home they didn’t even want me doing things like clearing the table. But you’re going into the third year of high school next term, right? Won’t this affect your studies?” Her eyes held a kind and curious light.

Xu Meng said, “Oh, but it’s summer break right now…” Once school started, of course she would go back.

She immediately understood—Han Lingling was worried she had dropped out of school and was probing a little.

From what she remembered, Han Lingling had always been this considerate. Even though her own family’s circumstances didn’t match the Han family’s, Han Lingling had rarely ever spoken in a condescending or dismissive tone. That brought back some memories of their childhood together, and the awkwardness of not having seen each other in years disappeared. She spoke openly and naturally.

“My mom and I started a small business. We just want to earn a bit of money during the summer break. What about you? Where are you going to high school?”

Han Lingling’s eyes curved as she kept smiling. “I go to the Attached High School of Qinghua University. I started struggling a bit when I got to high school, so I chose the liberal arts track. But liberal arts has a lot of memorization too, and it’s tough for me. My uncle just started his summer break, so I dragged him out to wander the streets with me.”

Xu Meng glanced at Han Jiming.

In her memory, Han Jiming had already become a well-known businessman, someone who radiated the presence of a successful figure.

Many years later, she had once seen him from afar but didn’t even dare go up and say hello. She later heard that Xu Jia’s career at school had benefited greatly from the Han family’s support, but she could never figure out when Xu Jia had managed to form a connection with them.

She wanted to smile at Han Jiming too, but he was simply too striking.

Fortunately, they had arrived at the train station.