Chapter 26 – Like-minded Souls

Lu Yunyang excitedly placed a duffel bag on the table. “Let’s see what Big Bro bought for us!”

He opened the bag and pulled out a plastic bag from inside. It contained a toothbrush, toothpaste, a cup, a towel, and a bar of soap.

He handed the toothbrush to Lu Yunchuan. “Big Brother, you use this to brush your teeth.”

He gave the towel to Lu Yunduo. “This one’s for girls. It’s better than the ones we have at home.”

He gave the soap to Mother Lu. “You and Grandma can use this.”

Then he handed the cup to Xie Xiaomeng. “Sister-in-law, this one’s for you.”

Finally, what was left was half a tube of toothpaste, which he planned to keep for himself.

But—but—why was it only half a tube?

Lu Yunchuan asked, “Did this toothbrush come with bent bristles right out of the factory?”

“Eh? This bar of soap seems smaller than the ones we usually buy.”

“And the towel doesn’t feel brand new either.”

“Don’t tell me these are secondhand?” Lu Yunyang was shocked. “Big Bro actually gave us secondhand stuff? But I’m not picky about the toothpaste. Big Bro, someone else used this toothbrush before. You don’t mind, right? As long as it works. Secondhand soap, secondhand towels—they’re still usable. As long as it’s not secondhand food, it’s all fine.”

“I’ve got a mouthful of secondhand phlegm—want some?” Grandma Lu glared at him.

“Grandma, don’t say something so disgusting.”

“You’re one to talk?”

“There’s a ton of secondhand stuff out there. Some people even recycle secondhand women.”

“Secondhand women still get taken in. Secondhand men? No one would take them even if you gave them away for free.”

“There won’t be any secondhand men in our family—especially not Big Bro. He’ll always be the finest among us… Wait, why isn’t there anything for Dad? There’s a cigarette butt in here—is this some secondhand cigarette for Dad?”

Lu Yunxiao came out from the inner room and saw that Lu Yunyang had already handed out all the daily essentials from his bag. Glancing to the side, he said, “Yunyang, you grabbed the wrong bag.”

Lu Yunyang: “……”

Lu Yunxiao then properly distributed the gifts. Cigarettes and liquor for the male intellectuals; towels, soap, and snacks for the female intellectuals. Everyone got something.

That evening, the whole family gathered to chat. The next day, when it was time to head to the fields for work, Lu Yunxiao also wanted to go with them.

“Yunxiao, you just got back. You probably didn’t get much rest in the army. Stay home and take it easy—we’re not counting on you to earn work points,” said Mother Lu.

“Mom, farm work is basically rest for me. Besides, if you all go and I’m home alone, I’ll be bored.”

“Well then, come along with us.”

On the way, Lu Yunyang was in high spirits, wondering if they might run into Yu Jingjing.

Sure enough, as they passed by a sweet potato field, Lu Yunyang spotted a female intellectual turned away from them, pulling weeds. His face flushed and his heart started pounding wildly.

Ah, no mistake about it—that was Yu Jingjing.

Strange though—he hadn’t even confirmed it was her, and yet his body was already reacting that way.

He took a closer look—yep, definitely Yu Jingjing.

He quickly told the others, “Mom, Grandma, I—I see Yu—the intellectual Yu. I—I want to help her weed.”

“I’ll go instead,” said Mother Lu. “You’d probably faint before you even reached her.”

Lu Yunxiao didn’t understand what was going on, so Mother Lu told him how Lu Yunyang had fainted while chasing after Yu Jingjing before.

But he wasn’t willing to let his sickly mother go. “Mom, your health’s not good. I won’t feel at ease if you’re not with us.”

“Then who should go? That girl is weeding all by herself. I’m worried those tender hands of hers will get scratched. She’s done us a favor, so we should help her when we can.”

Lu Yunduo wanted to go, but she was afraid of the green sap on sweet potato leaves.

Grandma Lu hadn’t come yet—she’d gone to the bathroom before leaving the house. Lu Yunchuan and Xie Xiaomeng were always off doing things as a couple and weren’t around right now.

At that moment, Lu Yunyang spoke up, “Who else? Of course, Big Bro should go. Yes—let Big Bro go.”

The whole family didn’t understand his reasoning.

Lu Yunduo asked, “Aren’t you afraid that Sister Yu might fall for Big Bro?”

Lu Yunyang gave his reasoning. “Because Big Bro isn’t looking for a wife. He’s safe.”

Lu Yunxiao agreed. “Alright, I’ll go.”

Just as Lu Yunxiao was about to enter the sweet potato field, Lu Yunyang grabbed him again.

“B—Big Bro, can I ask you something?”

“Just say it.”

Lu Yunyang grinned and said, “You know I’m chasing after Yu the intellectual, but I have no way to get close to her. So I was thinking—could you maybe talk about me in front of her? Say some good things, help her get to know me and maybe have a better impression of me?”

That was his real motive for sending Lu Yunxiao to help Yu Jingjing.

Given his current condition of “getting sick” just by seeing Yu Jingjing and fainting when he got too close, he knew he wouldn’t get a chance to interact with her up close anytime soon.

But by sending Big Bro over, he could let Yu the intellectual learn about him through Big Bro—an indirect way of interacting with her.

Heh, he was a genius. He couldn’t believe he’d come up with such a clever plan.

Even he was impressed with himself. If others knew what he was thinking, they’d probably be bowing down in admiration too.

Sure, he was using Big Bro—but he’d forgive himself for it.

After all, Big Bro would never know what he was really thinking.

Lu Yunxiao nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll help you. This is your business, but it’s also our family’s business. I hope you can get married soon, so Grandma and Mom can finally have the grandchildren they’ve been hoping for.”

Once they had grandkids, they’d stop pressuring him so much.

He instantly felt the burden on his shoulders lighten.

After parting ways with the family, he entered the sweet potato field.

Yu Jingjing heard rustling sounds behind her and turned around—only to see Lu Yunxiao.

Lu Yunxiao also recognized her. “It’s you.”

This was the young woman he had encountered twice—once at the state-run hotel in Anshi City, and once on the train.

But they had only seen each other. They hadn’t exchanged a single word.

He stood in front of Yu Jingjing. “What a coincidence, running into you here. When I saw you on the train, I thought you might be a sent-down youth headed to the countryside. I didn’t expect you’d actually be stationed here with us.”

“I thought the same. Back then, I guessed you might be a soldier—and it looks like I was right.”

“You knew I was a soldier?” He had purposely worn civilian clothes that morning. “Did my family tell you?”

“Yes. I found out while chatting with them.”

Now that they’d seen each other again, how should she bring up the matter of the handkerchief?

Should she go change clothes first?

No, not possible. Lu Yunxiao was here—she couldn’t leave so easily.

Besides, there weren’t that many people in the village. If a stranger suddenly showed up, it would definitely raise his suspicions.

Soldiers are naturally sharp and vigilant—she couldn’t take the risk for now.

“You’re back visiting your family?”

“Yeah. You treated my mom’s illness—you’re a benefactor to our family. I came to help you with some chores.”

He was just thinking about how to change the subject and bring up his third younger brother to Yu Jingjing.

But before that, there was something he needed to do first.

This was the first time he’d ever been in such close proximity with a young woman. When she looked at him, her gaze was clear and unguarded—very different from other women.

Might as well test her. If she turned out to be like the others, he’d back off and end the conversation quickly.

Suddenly, he smiled and asked her, “Hey, do you think I’m handsome?”

“Hmm?” Yu Jingjing was momentarily surprised. She stared at his absurdly good-looking face—so handsome it practically offended the gods—and shook her head. “Nope, not handsome!”

She wasn’t about to tell the truth and give him ideas.

Lu Yunxiao: “…”

She was the first girl ever to say he wasn’t handsome.

Looks like he could continue talking to her.

When Yu Jingjing saw the way he looked at her, his gaze was clean and lacked any ulterior motive. She wanted to test him a little, too.

She’d already decided she wouldn’t marry in this lifetime—she didn’t want to get entangled with anyone.

“Since you asked about looks, then let me ask you—do you think I’m beautiful? Or maybe pretty?”

When Lu Yunxiao first saw her, he had thought she was very beautiful. There was probably no other female comrade in the world who could compare.

She was the only one he’d ever thought of as truly beautiful.

But he would never admit that.

“You?” He curled his lips faintly. “All you female comrades look the same to me—not much difference.”

“Oh.” Seems like this guy was safe. “I think I just look average, too.”

They could continue interacting, then.

After a few seconds of silence, Lu Yunxiao spoke again, “Comrade Yu, are you getting used to life here?”

“It’s been good. I’m adapting.”

“That’s great. A lot of city kids struggle when they first arrive. Your adaptability is really impressive.”

As they chatted while weeding, Lu Yunxiao felt it was time to bring up his third brother.

“Comrade Yu, do you know my third brother?”

“Who’s your third brother?”

“He’s a guy.”

“Pretty sure he’s not a girl.”

“You really don’t know who he is?” He couldn’t believe his silly brother made so little impression that she didn’t even know who he was.

Yu Jingjing thought back to the person who had been with the Lu family. “Is it that child with cerebral palsy?”

“Cerebral palsy?” Suddenly remembering how Lu Yunyang always acted around Yu Jingjing, he realized the misunderstanding. “Yeah, that one with cerebral palsy. But he’s not actually paralyzed—he just sometimes acts like it.”

“Isn’t that still cerebral palsy?”

Lu Yunxiao: “…”

“He only shows those symptoms because of a special reason.”

“What reason?”

“He—he just likes to act. He’s pretending. It’s not real.”

“Well, whether it’s real or not, it doesn’t concern me. If he likes to act, let him. Let’s not talk about him anymore.”

Lu Yunxiao could tell Yu Jingjing had no interest in Lu Yunyang. She clearly didn’t think much of him.

Was he going to be urged to marry again?

Thinking about the sacred duty of carrying on the family line made his head ache.

He couldn’t help sighing and asked her, “Do you think a person must get married and have children in their lifetime? That life is incomplete without those things?”

Yu Jingjing was surprised to hear him say something like that. Weren’t people from this era supposed to be traditional?

For Lu Yunxiao to say something like this—did that mean he didn’t want to get married or have children?

What a forward-thinking mindset.

It was perfectly aligned with her own beliefs.