Chapter 19

“He’s truly a rare specimen,” Xu Jiaojiao said, shaking her head with a sigh.

Qin Jiashu looked up at her with wide, innocent eyes. “Aunt, what’s a ‘rare specimen’?”

“It’s someone like your grandfather,” Xu Jiaojiao leaned down to whisper in his ear, though her voice carried clearly. “He works himself to the bone for no reward. I bet he’s got a screw loose.”

Even Father Qin, who was staggering out with a load of firewood, could hear her words. The middle-aged man stumbled, nearly dropping his burden.

Qin Jiashu glanced at his grandfather’s retreating figure, then back at Xu Jiaojiao. Though he didn’t fully understand, the child instinctively trusted her. “You’re right, Aunt.”

“Such a good boy,” Xu Jiaojiao patted the back of his head and led him to the kitchen to prepare dinner. “How about soup noodles tonight?”

“Okay,” Qin Jiashu replied. He was an easy child to feed, eating whatever Xu Jiaojiao cooked without complaint.

Since they were out of rice, Xu Jiaojiao planned to go to the county town the next day. After dinner, she knitted for a while before lying down to sleep.

Qin Jiashu no longer felt nervous sleeping with Xu Jiaojiao. In fact, the little boy would now instinctively snuggle into her arms.

“Aunt is going to the county town tomorrow, Xiao Shu. Would you rather stay home and play or come with me?” Xu Jiaojiao asked gently, holding the child close.

The county town was a long and troublesome trip. Xu Jiaojiao worried she might not make it back by noon, leaving Xiao Shu hungry at home.

Qin Jiashu thought for a moment. “I want to go with Aunt.”

“Alright, Xiao Shu will come with Aunt to the county town tomorrow. We’ll have lunch at the State-Run Restaurant there.”

With Qin Jiashu accompanying her, Xu Jiaojiao didn’t need to rush. The next morning, they woke up naturally, leisurely ate breakfast, and didn’t leave until half past nine.

The weather was pleasant after several sunny days, and the village women were busy with various tasks.

Along the way, they saw people slicing radishes for salted vegetables, washing sweet potatoes for sweet potato noodles, and even some sitting in doorways knitting in the sun.

Xu Jiaojiao led Qin Jiashu through the village, letting him observe the bustling scene.

“Jiedi!” Halfway there, Qin Jiashu spotted his friend Qin Jiedi.

The little girl struggled under the weight of a bamboo basket overflowing with dirty clothes, the basket almost as tall as she was.

“Xiao Shu, Aunt…” Jie Di’s face lit up when she saw Qin Jiashu, then she called out to Xu Jiaojiao.

“Hello,” Xu Jiaojiao replied with a smile.

Jie Di stared at Xu Jiaojiao in surprise, as if she hadn’t expected her to respond.

“Xiao Shu, are you going out?”

“Yeah! My aunt is taking me to the county town,” Qin Jiashu told his friends excitedly.

Neither San Gouzi nor Jie Di had ever been to the county town, and neither had he!

Going to the county town? Jie Di felt a pang of envy. Then, remembering something, her face paled. She glanced warily at Xu Jiaojiao and tugged at Qin Jiashu’s sleeve. “Xiao Shu, come closer. I want to talk to you…”

Qin Jiashu looked puzzled and turned to Xu Jiaojiao.

Xu Jiaojiao didn’t stop him. She released Qin Jiashu’s small hand and watched as the two similarly sized children huddled together, whispering.

“Is she going to take you to the county town to sell you?” Jie Di asked Qin Jiashu, her voice tinged with worry.

Qin Jiashu blinked, startled by the question. He glanced at Xu Jiaojiao, then shook his head. “No, I want to go myself.”

“Really?” Jie Di still seemed uneasy.

“Really! My aunt is very good to me,” Qin Jiashu insisted.

Jie Di sighed in relief and nodded. “Okay!”

“I’m leaving now!” Qin Jiashu waved goodbye to Jiedi and trotted back to Xu Jiaojiao’s side.

Xu Jiaojiao and Xiao Shu walked hand-in-hand towards the county town, finally reaching the bus stop after a long walk.

“Come on, Xiao Shu, Aunt will teach you to read.”

With no idea when the bus to the county town would arrive, Xu Jiaojiao grew bored and picked up a small stick to pass the time by writing characters on the road.

“This is Qin, the Qin in Qin Jiashu.”

“This is Jia, and this is Shu.”

Xu Jiaojiao usually taught Xiao Shu whatever came to mind, but she had never taught him to read before. It was only now that she realized how difficult his name was to write.

If this were a child from later generations, they’d probably cry trying to write their own name when they first started school, she thought. It’s just too complicated.

But Qin Jiashu had a good memory. Gripping the stick tightly, he followed Xu Jiaojiao’s strokes, learning each character carefully.

….

After about twenty minutes of waiting, they finally spotted a bus approaching in the distance.

This was Qin Jiashu’s first bus ride. The bus wasn’t full, so he got a seat. The little boy happily pressed his face against the window.

As the bus started moving, Qin Jiashu involuntarily gasped, staring in wonder at the rapidly receding scenery.

Seeing that he wasn’t getting carsick, Xu Jiaojiao let him continue watching the outside. The boy remained excited all the way to the county town.

They had many errands to run in town that day. After getting off the bus, Xu Jiaojiao first took Qin Jiashu to the county post office to withdraw money.

Qin Zhengye regularly sent ninety yuan home each month. Today, Xu Jiaojiao had come to the county town to buy rice and meat, and she took the opportunity to collect the money.

Xu Jiaojiao had never been one to rely on men. She greatly admired Qin Zhengye, a man who sent money home even when he couldn’t be there himself.

After successfully withdrawing the ninety yuan from the post office, Xu Jiaojiao took Qin Jiashu straight to the State-Run Restaurant.

It was lunchtime, and the restaurant was packed. Today’s special was pork dumplings.

Xu Jiaojiao and Qin Jiashu shared a table with others and ordered a bowl of dumplings.

Qin Jiashu had never eaten dumplings before. The boy sat nervously close to Xu Jiaojiao, his eyes fixed on the two middle-aged men across the table who were devouring their dumplings with gusto.

Gulp. The boy couldn’t help but swallow hard.

Perhaps because dumplings were the only dish available today, they were cooked quickly. The busy staff called out order numbers from the window. When Xu Jiaojiao heard her number, she went to collect her bowl.

In the south, dumplings were served in a broth. The large bowl of soup-filled dumplings smelled particularly fragrant.

“Excuse me, beautiful, could I have an extra small bowl?” Xu Jiaojiao asked politely as she set down her dumplings and turned back to the window.

The staff at the State-Run Restaurant were just as haughty as the clerks at the supply and marketing cooperative.

But no woman could resist a compliment. Xu Jiaojiao’s cheerful “beautiful” caught the server off guard, leaving her unable to refuse.

“Here you go,” the waitress said, turning to hand Xu Jiaojiao a small bowl.

“Thank you,” Xu Jiaojiao replied.

Xu Jiaojiao walked to their table, used the small bowl to scoop out six dumplings, and then pushed the large bowl toward Qin Jiashu.

The pork dumplings at the State-Run Restaurant were generously filled and quite large. Xu Jiaojiao estimated that she might not even be able to finish six.

“The soup’s hot, Xiao Shu. Eat slowly,” Xu Jiaojiao said, gesturing for Qin Jiashu to start.

The boy was already drooling with anticipation, but he politely stopped Xu Jiaojiao. “Aunt, you take the big bowl. Xiao Shu will eat from the small one.”

“Aunt has a small appetite. I can’t finish the big bowl,” Xu Jiaojiao countered.

Her frail body, inherited from the original owner of this body, came with a notoriously small appetite.

Perhaps because Qin Jiashu was growing, the boy usually ate more than Xu Jiaojiao.

Qin Jiashu glanced at the dumplings, then remembered how little his aunt usually ate at home. He finally agreed.

“Delicious,” Qin Jiashu said after taking a sip of the soup. He carefully ate the dumplings with his spoon and chopsticks.

After a satisfying lunch at the State-Run Restaurant, the pair walked hand-in-hand to the supply and marketing cooperative.

Qin Jiashu had never been to the county town before, and everything was new and exciting to him. The boy’s eyes darted around, trying to take it all in.

“Aunt, it’s Ugly Aunt…” Qin Jiashu suddenly pointed in a direction.

Ugly Aunt?

Xu Jiaojiao raised an eyebrow and followed the child’s gaze. There stood Liu Shufen, wearing a patched gray cotton-padded jacket, in front of the meat stall.

Xu Jiaojiao remembered Qin Jiashu’s craving for pork cracklings. The first thing she did after leaving the State-Run Restaurant was to buy meat.

Liu Shufen also noticed Xu Jiaojiao and Qin Jiashu, a flash of embarrassment crossing her face.

“Do you want meat?” the clerk at the food supply station snapped impatiently.

“Yes, please,” Liu Shufen nodded repeatedly, producing her meat coupon and money.

“Three ounces?” The clerk’s tone grew even more impatient as he examined the coupon.

“Please cut me three ounces, with a mix of lean and fat,” Liu Shufen said in a conciliatory tone.

“Too small to cut properly. Want this scrap?” The clerk brandished his knife at a ragged piece of pork.

Liu Shufen felt a surge of resentment, but she gritted her teeth and forced out, “…Yes.”

With a practiced swipe, the clerk sliced off a small piece of meat and placed it on the scale. It was slightly underweight, so he trimmed off a sliver to make up the difference.

Liu Shufen took the pork strung with straw, glanced furtively at Xu Jiaojiao, and hurried away.

“Hello, sir. I’d like two pounds of meat for rendering lard,” Xu Jiaojiao said politely, smiling at the clerk as she held Qin Jiashu’s hand.

Xu Jiaojiao was pretty, and her deliberately charming smile made a good impression on the clerk.

“Alright, I’ll cut it for you,” the clerk said, selecting a large piece of fatty pork with a few ounces of lean meat mixed in.

“Thank you, sir,” Xu Jiaojiao said, handing over the money and ration coupons.

She had a long list of errands today and had come prepared. She stuffed the pork, strung together with straw, into her burlap sack.

After buying the meat, Xu Jiaojiao went to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought several children’s picture books—the kind that didn’t require reading.

Knowing she’d be bored after finishing her knitting, she bought picture books for Qin Jiashu and a thick martial arts novel for herself.

Finally, she bought rice and flour. The trip to the county town was long, requiring both walking and a bus ride, so Xu Jiaojiao planned to stock up on all the food and supplies she’d need until the new year.

The ninety yuan allowance Qin Zhengye had sent her was nearly gone before she could even warm it in her pocket.

Yet the purchasing power of ninety yuan was astonishing. A sack of rice and a sack of flour left Xu Jiaojiao dizzy from carrying them.

By sheer coincidence, she ran into Liu Shufen again on the bus home from the county town.

Xu Jiaojiao paid little attention to her. The afternoon bus was crowded, nearly every seat taken. She settled Qin Jiashu on her lap, leaned back against the seat, and pretended to doze.

The return journey from the county town was relatively easy, but the muddy road back to Qin Family Village proved to be Xu Jiaojiao’s real challenge.

“Xiao Shu, could you help me carry these books?” Xu Jiaojiao handed several books to Qin Jiashu.

“Mm,” Qin Jiashu replied, cradling the books in both arms.

Xu Jiaojiao hefted the burlap sack, struggling to carry the rice and flour home. After trudging for over ten minutes, panting heavily, she was fortunate enough to encounter a donkey cart heading back to the village.

“Uncle, would you mind giving us a ride?” Xu Jiaojiao waved to stop the cart.