Chapter 36

Given Ruan Changsheng’s pace, reaching the town would have taken him another half day. But now, with an extra person on his back, even though the youth was light-boned, she was still an adult, so it took him most of the day to get there. As they neared the town, the youth got off his back, slung the sack over her shoulder, and walked on her own.

Ruan Changsheng, panting, walked beside them and asked, “Now can you tell me your name and where you’re from? Can we… be friends?”

The youth glanced at him and said, “My name is Qian Chuan, and I’m from this town.”

Ruan Changsheng swallowed hard, “Qian Chuan?”

The name was quite fitting; she must be a reincarnation of a money string, daring to engage in black market trading in these times.

Qian Chuan ignored him and asked, “What about you? What’s your name? Why are you here?”

Ruan Changsheng, breathing more steadily, replied, “My name is Ruan Changsheng, from Fengyan Brigade. I’m here to restock supplies for the tailor shop.”

“Restock?”

Qian Chuan seemed very interested in these words.

Ruan Changsheng nodded, “Restock.”

Qian Chuan smiled, “Then I’ll go with you.”

And so, they became friends. Qian Chuan no longer tried to shake off Ruan Changsheng and walked with him to the town. Once there, she didn’t rush home but followed Ruan Changsheng to the state-run store.

Ruan Changsheng took out his list to restock supplies, and she watched from the side.

She asked, “Is your family running a tailor shop?”

Ruan Changsheng replied, “It’s my niece’s tailor shop. She asked me to help restock.”

Qian Chuan was very curious, “How old is your niece? She can already be a tailor?”

Ruan Changsheng: “Not very old, fifteen.”

Qian Chuan: “Already a tailor at that age? Impressive. I’d like to see her work sometime.”

Ruan Changsheng turned to her, “How old are you?”

Qian Chuan: “I’m three years older than your niece, eighteen.”

Ruan Changsheng smiled, “Then I’m two years older than you. I’m twenty.”

Who cares about your age? Qian Chuan deliberately said, “Oh, you look a bit old, like thirty.”

Ruan Changsheng: “…” Is this kid looking for a fight?

They chatted while buying things at the state-run store.

Ruan Changsheng didn’t plan to stay in town long. After walking for a while, he said to Qian Chuan, “I’ve restocked, so I need to head back. If you have nothing else to do, go home, take a bath, and wash your face. Look at you, all dirty. Do you even look like a girl? I’ll come find you when I have time, and you can tell me where you got all these things.”

He indicated her sack with his eyes.

What does it matter to you if I look like a girl?! Qian Chuan thought for a moment, then suddenly grabbed Ruan Changsheng’s wrist and pulled him to a secluded spot. After stopping, she put down the sack and said, “No need to wait. I’ll share some with you today. Want some?”

Ruan Changsheng was a bit surprised, “Share with me?”

Qian Chuan smiled, “Of course, for a price.”

Ruan Changsheng wasn’t foolish; he understood what Qian Chuan meant. She was selling goods anyway, so selling to him directly would save her the trouble of going up the mountain and earn her a lot of money quickly.

Ruan Changsheng looked at her for a moment, “Then you have to give me a discount.”

Qian Chuan agreed readily, “Absolutely.”

Ruan Changsheng had the money Ruan Xi gave him for running errands, so he rummaged through the sack, picking out items he thought would sell well. After haggling with Qian Chuan several times, he paid and packed the items into his backpack.

Qian Chuan, smiling brightly, rolled up the money and put it in her pocket. She picked up the sack and said to Ruan Changsheng, “Alright, I’m heading home. I won’t keep you.”

Ruan Changsheng stood up as well, “Why don’t you tell me where you got these things?”

Qian Chuan replied bluntly, “No way. If you want to sell more next time, come find me in town. My house is next to Tianfeng Elementary School. Just ask for my name.”

Ruan Changsheng: “…” This girl is really cunning!

After Qian Chuan left, Ruan Changsheng didn’t linger in town. He took the restocked supplies and the items he bought from Qian Chuan and returned to the mountains. This time, he didn’t rush home. Instead, he sought out villages along the way, specifically looking for populated areas. When he found people, he would sneakily approach them and ask:

“Sir, would you like to try a cigarette?”

“Ma’am, do you need a thimble?”

“Want some candy?”

“Is there a rat stealing your grain? I have rat poison!”

Since he had previously mingled with many people outside, he knew the needs of each village in Fengming Mountain and was good at reading people. He seemed to be able to tell what people really needed, making it easy to sell things. However, it was his first time doing this, and he knew getting caught would be bad, so he was always very cautious and didn’t dare to go all out. At the slightest sign of trouble, he would run away. He had no other skills but was strong, good at fighting, and quick on his feet. He continued to sell things secretly while making his way up the mountain. By the time he had passed through half the villages in Fengming Mountain, he had sold all the items he bought from Qian Chuan.

Of course, he didn’t take much, only about one and a half yuan worth of goods. After selling everything and deducting the cost, he made a profit of seventy cents.

Seventy cents was not a small amount; it could buy a pound of wine or pork. He worked hard in the production team for a month and earned only five or six yuan. Now, just by talking and walking a bit more, he made seventy cents. This money was earned easily and joyfully.

Of course, he couldn’t let others know about it, not even his family, to avoid worrying them about him getting caught. Especially if his second sister-in-law, Sun Xiaohui, found out, she might report him out of jealousy.

When Ruan Changsheng arrived home in the afternoon, Ruan Xi and Ruan Cuizhi were still at the shop, so he didn’t go home but went to Jinguang Village first, which was closer than Fengyan Village.

At the tailor shop, he handed over the purchased items to Ruan Xi.

After checking, Ruan Xi smiled and said, “Thank you, Uncle.”

Ruan Changsheng, pleased, replied with a smile, “Call me for such good tasks in the future.”

Ruan Xi nodded, “Sure, as long as you don’t mind the effort.”

Ruan Changsheng didn’t feel tired at all, “What’s tiring about running a bit? It’s not as hard as mining in the mountains.”

He loved to run around and didn’t like being confined. There wasn’t a place in the mountains he hadn’t been to. Moreover, he got paid for running errands. He could use the money to buy goods from Qian Chuan and sell them on the way back, making it a comfortable and profitable venture. He wished he could run around every day.

Ruan Cuizhi added, “You never minded the effort; you have always loved running around since you were a kid.”

As the three of them were chatting and getting lively, they suddenly heard someone shout, “Is the young tailor here?”

Ruan Xi immediately responded, “Yes, I am!”

After responding, she and Ruan Cuizhi went out and saw a woman with short, ear-length hair. Beside her was a young man around twenty, who appeared to be her son.

Ruan Cuizhi and Ruan Xi welcomed them inside and asked if they needed clothes made or altered.

The short-haired woman, looking at Ruan Xi with her eyes and mouth full of smiles, said, “My son got a good job in town, and we want to make him two decent outfits. So, we came to ask if you could come to our house in the next couple of days.”

Ruan Xi smiled and agreed, while Ruan Cuizhi had already taken out a measuring tape to measure the woman’s son.

The woman took out the fabric she had bought and showed it to Ruan Xi, asking, “I bought khaki and velvet fabric, planning to make two outfits. What style do you think would look good?”

Ruan Xi looked at the fabric and suggested, “How about making two sets of uniforms? A complete uniform looks very stylish and smart, and many city folks wear them.”

Mountain people had never seen city folks, so the woman’s eyes lit up, “Really?”

Ruan Xi nodded, “Yes, I’ll draw the designs and bring them over for you to see.”

Ruan Xi’s skills were well-known in the mountains, and the woman trusted her, smiling as she said, “Great, great. I’ll have someone come over the day after tomorrow to help you move the machine. Our brigade is a bit far, about thirty miles. When I came, many people in the brigade said they would want you to alter their clothes when you come, so you might have to stay for a few days.”

This was quite common, so Ruan Xi nodded, “Alright, I’ll pack a few clothes to bring along.”

Then she asked, “Which brigade are you from?”

The woman replied, “Chiyu Brigade.”

Hearing the brigade’s name, Ruan Xi and Ruan Cuizhi didn’t react much; they just acknowledged it. However, Ruan Changsheng was slightly taken aback but quickly returned to normal. Casually, he asked the woman, “Has Xie Tao from your brigade found a match yet?”

The woman looked at Ruan Changsheng, suddenly recognizing him, and said, “Have you been to our brigade before? Are you the young man surnamed Ruan who was supposed to be Xie Tao’s match?”

Ruan Changsheng had indeed visited Chiyu Brigade twice when he was getting to know Xie Tao. Since the two villages were far apart and Xie Tao was a girl, he had to travel to the Chiyu Brigade to get to know her better.

He casually replied, “We weren’t really a match. Nothing was set in stone.”

The woman looked at Ruan Changsheng and said, “What? You still haven’t found a match? Xie Tao has seen two others since then but didn’t like them. Maybe she’s still thinking about you, waiting for you to give up and come back to her.”

Ruan Cuizhi, having finished measuring, asked curiously, “Give up what?”

Wasn’t it said they broke it off because their personalities didn’t match?

Hearing Ruan Cuizhi’s question, Ruan Changsheng suddenly realized something and quickly interrupted, “Nothing, nothing.”

He must have had a lapse in judgment, casually chatting about the woman’s brigade. Realizing this, he tried to send the woman away, but she was eager to gossip and insisted on continuing, saying to Ruan Cuizhi, “The Xie family has an issue with his third sister.”

Ruan Changsheng, anxious, tried to cover the woman’s mouth, but her son pulled him away.

The woman continued, “The Xie family said that if he sends his third sister back to her in-laws, the marriage will go smoothly. If not, it won’t happen.”

After hearing this, Ruan Cuizhi’s face darkened, and she looked at Ruan Changsheng.

Ruan Changsheng gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, wanting to slap himself.

Ruan Xi, who hadn’t known about this before, was also stunned. She turned to look at Ruan Changsheng, and from his expression, she could tell that he, Ruan Zhigao, and Liu Xinghua had deliberately kept this from Ruan Cuizhi.

Ruan Cuizhi looked at Ruan Changsheng and asked, “Is this true?”

Ruan Changsheng took a deep breath and said, “Third Sister, don’t listen to her nonsense. It’s not true.”

The woman, hearing this, widened her eyes slightly, “Third Sister?”

She then looked at Ruan Cuizhi, “Are you his third sister?”

Then she asked Ruan Xi, “And you, young tailor?”

Ruan Xi replied, “I’m his niece.”

The woman, hearing this, lowered her head and seemed to be processing something. After a while, she seemed to have figured it out and looked up at Ruan Xi, saying, “People in the mountains call you the young tailor, but those from nearby brigades wouldn’t know whose daughter you are! So, you’re from the Fengyan Brigade, Ruan family? And your third aunt is here with you, working as a tailor?”

Ruan Xi nodded, “Yes, my third aunt is very skilled. We do all the work in the shop together.”

Hearing this, the woman thought for a moment, then quickly packed up her fabric, grabbed her son, and hurried out, saying, “Young tailor, I’ll be going now. I’ll have someone to pick you up the day after tomorrow.”

Ruan Xi didn’t have time to see her out, so she just said, “Take care.”

As the woman hurried away with her son, only Ruan Cuizhi, Ruan Xi, and Ruan Changsheng were left in the room.

Ruan Cuizhi looked at Ruan Changsheng and asked, “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

Ruan Changsheng, reverting to his carefree demeanor, said, “If they don’t want to, then forget it. What’s there to say?”

It’s been more than half a year, and Ruan Changsheng hasn’t gone on any more dates. Ruan Cuizhi looked at him and asked, “Is it because you like that girl named Xie, so you don’t want to go on any more dates?”

Ruan Changsheng laughed, “What are you talking about? I only met her a few times. There’s no liking or disliking. Like doing business, I think dating is pointless, so I plan to find someone myself.”

Ruan Cuizhi still asked, “Do you really not like her?”

Ruan Changsheng firmly replied, “I really don’t. Third Sister, don’t overthink it. When she made that demand, there was no way I could be with her. Even if her family later agreed to compromise, I wouldn’t marry her. She hadn’t even married me yet and wanted me to send my own sister away. Wouldn’t there be more problems after marriage?”

Ruan Cuizhi took a deep breath, then turned and sat on a stool, saying nothing.

Ruan Changsheng, seeing her feeling guilty, quickly went over to massage her back and said, “Third Sister, don’t overthink it. You have no problems; it’s all their family’s issue. Trust me, I’ll bring back a girl better than her to be your sister-in-law.”

Ruan Cuizhi turned to look at him.

Ruan Xi also said, “Third Aunt, I believe Uncle can do it.”

Ruan Cuizhi slowly relaxed and nodded, “Yes! My brother is talented and charming; he can definitely do it!”

Meanwhile, the short-haired woman hurried home with her son, covering thirty miles of mountain road. The first thing she did upon arriving wasn’t to go home but to head straight to the Xie family’s door. After drinking some water, she sat down and said to Mother Xie, “Oh, your daughter Taozi has missed out big time!”

Mother Xie, confused, asked, “What do you mean by that?”