Chapter 22 ☆ Dongkui Dried Bayberry (Part 2)

Xie San opened his kettle and handed it to her. “Drink some water slowly. You’ll have to wait until your teeth recover.”

Cheng Yaoyao appreciated this about Xie San—he wouldn’t scold or lecture her. She took a sip from the kettle, then suddenly realized, “Oh, I forgot, this is bayberry juice!”

Cheng Yaoyao opened the lunch box. “There are also dried bayberries! Try some.”

After being boiled and softened, the bayberries shrink and turn into small, bright red fruits. When you use the tip of your tongue to hook one and suck on it gently, you taste a sweetness similar to yellow sugar combined with the bayberry’s tangy sourness. This mix of sweet and sour makes you want to keep eating them.

Xie San ate two dried bayberries before stopping. Cheng Yaoyao looked at him eagerly. Despite his usual cold demeanor, Xie San said, “It’s delicious.”

Cheng Yaoyao was delighted. “These are all for you. There’s also bayberry juice; you should try it.”

As she handed him the kettle, Xie San’s heart raced, and sweat broke out on his palms. He had just seen Cheng Yaoyao’s rosy lips pressed against this very kettle. Slowly, he reached out to take it.

Cheng Yaoyao seemed to remember something and turned to find a small bamboo tube. “Oh, use this to hold it.”

Xie San suddenly came to his senses, his forehead sweating. He felt embarrassed by his earlier reaction.

Cheng Yaoyao carefully poured a small amount of bayberry juice into the bamboo tube—just half a cup. “Here, drink it all. Don’t waste any.”

The newly cut bamboo tube had a tender white wall, reflecting the bright red juice, making it visually pleasing. Xie San drank it in one gulp. The sweet and sour juice lifted his spirits.

Seeing the relief in Xie San’s eyes, Cheng Yaoyao felt more satisfied than if she had drunk it herself. She carefully capped the bottle and said, “Your grandma has a cough, right? Have her drink a small cup of this with water every day; it can help calm her asthma and soothe her nerves.”

Cheng Yaoyao knew Xie San might not have accepted the gift if she had simply offered it. However, knowing it could help his grandmother made him more inclined to take it. Cheng Yaoyao also advised, “I boiled the bayberry juice to make it thick. You can store it in a water tank, and it will last for a week. Don’t waste any of it. The dried bayberries can also be kept for a while, so she can eat them slowly.”

Without Cheng Yaoyao’s reminder, Xie San would not have wasted her kindness. He nodded in agreement.

Seeing Cheng Yaoyao holding her cheeks and unable to eat, Xie San went to find some mushrooms, made a fire, and roasted them for her. He also placed the steamed bread on a tree branch and roasted it. The roasted bread was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, making it easier to eat. He dripped the mushroom juice onto the steamed bread, making it softer and more flavorful.

Cheng Yaoyao felt full and drowsy. Xie San looked into her confused eyes, like a sleepy kitten, and a tender feeling washed over him.

He had only mentioned his grandmother’s illness in passing, yet Cheng Yaoyao brought him bayberry juice and dried bayberries, and even arranged for his rations. Over the years, Xie San has faced cold treatment and malice due to his background, but he has never experienced such unprovoked kindness and care.

The sun was strong that day. Cheng Yaoyao, resting in the shade of corn leaves on a pile of hay that Xie San had prepared, felt more comfortable than on the big kang^[1]is a traditional Chinese bed, often used in northern regions of China. in the dormitory. The hay was soft and covered with Xie San’s coat, and she had applied mint juice to her hands and feet, which felt cool and protected her from mosquito bites.

Cheng Yaoyao fell asleep, and when she woke, the sky was already filled with rosy clouds. She stretched and looked for Xie San. “It’s so late. Why didn’t you wake me?”

After crossing two long ridges of land, Xie San’s wheat-colored muscles bulged, coated with a glistening layer of sweat. He turned around, looking energetic. “I can handle it alone.”

Cheng Yaoyao screamed and pointed at his face. “You…you… you…”

Xie San looked puzzled, following Cheng Yaoyao’s frightened gaze. He wiped under his nose and discovered it was covered in a bright red stain.

Lowering his head, a few bright red spots fell onto the front of his vest.

Xie San was stunned. Cheng Yaoyao urgently pushed his chin. “Look up! Quick!”

Xie San raised his head and opened his mouth to speak, but his nosebleed intensified. Cheng Yaoyao took off her rubber band, tied it around his middle finger, and led him to the stream to wash his face.

After a while, the nosebleed finally stopped.

Xie San was puzzled. He had always been healthy and rarely sick. He felt energetic and didn’t feel uncomfortable at all. Cheng Yaoyao patted his chest behind him, relieved she hadn’t overfed him.

Since Cheng Yaoyao hadn’t done any work that day, she walked home with extra energy. Xie San handled all the work but didn’t look tired, likely because he had eaten well and was full of strength.

As usual, the two parted ways in front of the village. Cheng Yaoyao excitedly carried a basket of bayberries back to the educated youth dormitory. As soon as she entered, she couldn’t wait to announce, “Look what I brought back!”

Everyone was chatting excitedly. When they saw Cheng Yaoyao, they pulled her aside and said, “Yaoyao, tomorrow is a holiday!”

“Ah?” Cheng Yaoyao was stunned. She had planned to make some dried bayberries for Xie San, but she soon became happy: the educated youths had agreed to go to the city tomorrow!

Han Yin was very excited. “I haven’t had snacks for a long time. This time, I’m going to buy some food! And soap!”

Others also discussed what they wanted to buy. Liu Minxia’s eyes sparkled with anticipation. Everyone exchanged tickets, trading soap tickets for industrial tickets, and so on. Nowadays, buying things depends on tickets; without them, you couldn’t buy anything.

Cheng Yaoyao looked at the basket of Dongkui bayberries on her back and had an idea.

The others then noticed Cheng Yaoyao’s backpack. “Yaoyao, what are you carrying?”

“Bayberries.” Cheng Yaoyao called Han Yin and Zhang Xiaofeng to help her wash the bayberries.

Others inevitably gathered to get a few bayberries. Cheng Yaoyao was unusually stingy today, giving each of them only a few before shooing them away. Cheng Yaoyao looked even prettier when she was fierce. The others laughed and walked away, enjoying the sweet and sour bayberries.

Cheng Yaoyao rinsed the bayberries, added some salt, and soaked them for ten minutes. These Dongkui bayberries were of excellent quality. Perhaps because Xie San picked them carefully, each one was plump and even, with only a few broken during transport. Cheng Yaoyao shared those with Han Yin and Zhang Xiaofeng.

After soaking, Cheng Yaoyao rinsed the bayberries again, drained them, and put them in a pot with brown sugar and water to boil. She watched the bayberries closely, using a wooden spoon to scoop out the foam and discard it. Soon, the plump bayberries began to shrink. Dongkui bayberries are large with small cores, so even after shrinking, they remained twice the size of the dried bayberries from yesterday, with very thick flesh.

Cheng Yaoyao boiled water in another pot and added a handful of white rice. This precious white rice was bought by the original owner for one yuan per pound on the black market, and only a little remained. Cheng Yaoyao gently stirred it with a wooden spoon until the rice softened and the clear water turned into a sticky, snow-white rice soup.

She removed the white rice, leaving just the rice soup. Then she added the dried bayberries from the other pot and continued to simmer over low heat. Gradually, the soup thickened, and the dried bayberries became firm and glossy. The oily, sticky soup coated the dried bayberries, filling the air with a sweet and sour aroma that made everyone’s mouths water.

Han Yin and Zhang Xiaofeng watched in amazement. “My goodness, Yaoyao, you really don’t know how to live. You put so much rice and sugar in just a pot of dried bayberries!”

“Is it a lot?” Cheng Yaoyao had only used a few ounces of brown sugar and a handful of white rice, which she felt was a modest amount. If it were up to her in the future, she might have added a pound of sugar.

Cheng Yaoyao fished out all the dried bayberries. She shared a small bowl of white rice with Han Yin and Zhang Xiaofeng. They all sighed with satisfaction, and Cheng Yaoyao was nearly moved to tears.

How long had it been since she last ate white rice? This made her even more determined to make money. She wanted to enjoy white rice and meat!

Since Cheng Yaoyao used rice soup to cook the dried bayberries today, most of the bayberry juice remained. She poured the juice into an enamel basin and cooled it in a water tank. After dinner, everyone at the educated youth dormitory received half a cup of the juice, and Zhang Xiaofeng and Han Yin naturally got a full cup.

As for Shen Yan and Cheng Nuonuo, they left early after dinner, and no one cared about them. A few male educated youths envied Shen Yan’s good fortune, but after tasting the sour, sweet, and refreshing bayberry juice, they felt quite content.

Cheng Yaoyao hung the dried bayberries on the windowsill. Originally placed in the yard, Han Yin insisted they be brought inside to prevent theft. Cheng Yaoyao was frustrated; living in a dormitory was troublesome. There was no freedom—every time she brought something back or cooked, she had to share it with others or risk sneaking food like everyone else.

Living on the same kang, they could hear who was grinding their teeth or tossing around at night. The constant sneaking and eating were irritating—eating in bed was so unsanitary.

Cheng Yaoyao hoped the issue of changing dormitories would be addressed soon.

After washing her hair and taking a bath, Cheng Yaoyao put on a nightgown and rummaged through her box. She pulled out a small, exquisite purse and, upon opening it, discovered that the original owner had quite a lot of property!

A thick stack of tickets—colorful and varied. Cheng Yaoyao sat cross-legged on the bed, counting them. National food tickets, industrial tickets, leather shoe tickets, cloth tickets, sugar tickets, snack tickets, soap tickets, and… menstrual pad tickets.

In fact, Cheng Yaoyao inherited the knowledge about bills from the original owner’s memory. Yet, as she held the stack of bills, she was still shocked by the sophistication of the currency of this era.

The original owner had never been poor. Her father’s monthly salary was around 100 yuan, and more than half of it was spent on his eldest daughter. The pink dress Cheng Yaoyao wore today was bought from Guangzhou by the original owner’s father, costing two months’ salary. Unfortunately, three years ago, the balance of the original owner’s father’s support began to tilt towards Cheng Nuonuo.

Although he did not show favoritism towards Cheng Nuonuo, his unconditional doting on the original owner gradually diminished. When the original owner went to the countryside, her father gave both her and Cheng Nuonuo the same amount of money, 100 yuan each, but he also secretly gave the original owner an additional 50 kilograms of national food coupons, saving them without telling Cheng Nuonuo’s mother.

Cheng Yaoyao counted the bills but found only a few national food coupons, snack coupons, and sugar coupons left, with the rest being industrial coupons that were of no use. There were only 37.80 yuan remaining.

One hundred yuan was a sum that a family in Tianshui Village could not earn in an entire year. It was enough for them to live on for a year! The original owner had spent almost all of it in three months: buying snacks and new clothes on the black market and eating out every time she went to the city, while also supporting Liu Minxia.

Cheng Yaoyao was not too shocked; she had been more generous with her money in her previous life. She was a VIP customer of high-end brands, receiving batches of limited edition bags and shoes delivered to her home as soon as they were released.

Now, she was sitting cross-legged, counting every penny.