Chapter 54 ☆ Shoe Repair (Part 3)

It wasn’t until Lin Lulu and Wu Man left angrily that Zhang Xiaofeng said, “Yaoyao, Lin Lulu is the daughter of the branch secretary. You don’t have to go against her.”

“What’s wrong with the branch secretary’s daughter?” Cheng Yaoyao curled her lips. She wasn’t afraid of the branch secretary and his wife.

Only the pink and white flowered fabric was left. Han Yin didn’t want it at the moment and only wanted the red and white checkered piece. The salesperson felt a bit awkward and said to her, “New material will arrive next week; I’ll save a piece for you.”

“It’s settled!” Han Yin then became happy.

Cheng Yaoyao said, “I’ll take the pink one.”

Han Yin asked, “Don’t you already have two pink clothes?”

“I bought it for someone else.” Cheng Yaoyao purchased the pink material, along with a piece of light blue fine check cotton cloth and a roll of dark blue cloth. She also went to the grain and oil store to buy half a pound of oil using the oil coupons sent by her father.

After the three of them finished their shopping, they went to the post office. At the beginning of the month, educated youths sent things to their families, making the post office crowded with people.

Cheng Yaoyao handed over the letter of introduction, and the salesperson gave her a large package and three letters. It seemed the items she had sent last time were well-received.

Cheng Yaoyao looked at the envelopes: two thick and one thinner. The thick envelope was addressed to Cheng Nuonuo, with the signature of Cheng’s father.

Cheng Yaoyao squeezed the letter, which was very thick and likely contained many bills. She stared at it, hesitated for a moment, and then returned it to the salesperson.

She opened her own letter. One was written in a rather sloppy hand, asking why she was struggling in the countryside, whether Shen Yan and Cheng Nuonuo were helping her, and advising her to keep the candy ticket for herself and take care. It was clear that the writer was quite excited.

The second letter was much calmer. It praised the dried bayberries Cheng Yaoyao had sent as delicious and advised her to get along with her comrades and help her sister and Shen Yan. Cheng Yaoyao glanced through the two or three pages and took out the money and bills from the envelope.

This time, there were fewer bills, many marked “special subsidies,” which Cheng’s father had clearly obtained through special channels. There was a total of 100 yuan. Cheng Yaoyao wondered again about the contents of Cheng Nuonuo’s letter and what Cheng’s father might have included.

Cheng Yaoyao put away the bills and the letter, and wrote a reply to Cheng’s father. In the letter, she asked about his health and requested not to send money, as it was challenging for him to manage expenses in the countryside. She considered asking for a watch ticket but crossed out that request and only asked him to send some clothes that were too small for her.

Cheng Yaoyao read the letter, sealed it, and mailed it. Although she wasn’t short of money, Cheng’s father’s monthly salary was only a little over 100 yuan, making it difficult for him to send money every month.

Han Yin and Zhang Xiaofeng also received packages from their families, but none were as heavy as Cheng Yaoyao’s. The three of them found a quiet spot and unpacked their packages.

Han Yin’s package contained dried sweet potatoes that had become sugary, two kilograms of noodles, and a new dress. Zhang Xiaofeng’s package included a can of malted milk and a large stack of pancakes, which were good for filling up and could be stored for a long time.

Cheng Yaoyao opened her package to find seven or eight cans of meat with Soviet labels, chocolates, a pretty dress, a box of biscuits, and a pile of sausages. It was evident that Cheng’s father had connections with the Soviets.

Han Yin looked at the dress repeatedly and said, “It’s really frustrating to compare yourself with others. Your dad is so good to you! He sends so many great things!”

“It’s nothing. You just use money to impress me,” Cheng Yaoyao said, pretending to be disdainful. However, her nose felt a little sour for some reason. She missed her biological father a bit. Although he was unreliable, he always brought her various flashy gifts from around the world.

The original owner’s father wasn’t actually a bad person.

The three of them exchanged food: Han Yin traded two kilograms of noodles for canned meat with Cheng Yaoyao, and Zhang Xiaofeng traded pancakes for red sausages.

Han Yin said, “I have to write a letter to my family asking them not to send noodles or anything like that anymore. Instead, send pancakes that can be eaten directly, like they did for Zhang Xiaofeng.”

Cheng Yaoyao asked curiously, “Aren’t dried noodles more valuable?”

“I live in someone else’s house. How can I cook for myself? After I finish cooking, the child will be waiting in front of me. Should I share the food or not?” Han Yin took everything out of her package and stuffed it into her bag.

Zhang Xiaofeng did the same, stuffing everything into her bag until it was compacted and not visible from the outside. Living in someone else’s house was so inconvenient. It was better when they lived in a dormitory, where everyone could cook their own meals privately. In someone else’s house, they couldn’t even touch a piece of firewood.

Han Yin said to Cheng Yaoyao, “Are you just going to take these things back like this?”

Cheng Yaoyao said casually, “The Xie family is different from your family. There are no children there, and no one is greedy for my chocolates.”

Han Yin was disappointed. “I think you shouldn’t be so naive. Before, it was Liu Minxia, and now it’s the Xie family! The Xie family is so poor that they can’t even afford to eat. Don’t give them all your good things. We have 200 kilograms of food left with them. We can just eat with them every day.”

Zhang Xiaofeng then said, “Have you heard that Liu Minxia was fired?”

“I know!” Han Yin was the most perceptive about these gossips. She said, “She hid those 200 kilograms of food in her room, cooked for herself every day, and used firewood from Lin Gui’s family. Tell me, is she shameless? Lin Gui’s family is extremely angry now! And Cheng Nuonuo, she has met her match this time!”

The three of them packed up their things and walked out of the county town, listening to Han Yin’s storytelling as they walked: “The woman in the family where Cheng Nuonuo stayed was very powerful. She directly locked Cheng Nuonuo’s 200 kilograms of food in the cupboard. The whole family drank wild vegetable porridge for every meal and secretly ate fine grains when Cheng Nuonuo went out!”

Cheng Yaoyao had a strange expression on her face. Why did this behavior sound so familiar?

Zhang Xiaofeng was surprised and asked, “How could they do this? Cheng Nuonuo didn’t make a fuss?”

“Cheng Nuonuo is really amazing. She figured out when her family would steal the fine grains, and then she came back to confront them. She even sat down at the table and ate with a smile,” Han Yin clapped her hands like a storyteller. “She made the whole family embarrassed. The old man of that family is quite decent; he scolded everyone and said they should cook the same food from now on.”

Cheng Yaoyao sneered, “The old man is decent? Why wasn’t he decent when he ate two kinds of food before?”

Zhang Xiaofeng and Han Yin agreed, “You’re right. Who cares about them? Cheng Nuonuo has met her match.”

Cheng Yaoyao walked a few steps and suddenly had an idea. She asked, “What’s the name of the old man of the family where Cheng Nuonuo lives?”

Han Yin thought for a moment and said, “I think his name is… Lin Wuxing.”

Cheng Yaoyao almost tripped. It turned out to be his house!

Lin Wuxing had three sons, and his life was considered well-off in the village. He had just built a two-story blue brick house. But Lin Wuxing was famous not because of this, but because of his powerful wife, Lin Wangshi, known as Lin Pozi ^[1]which is a slang term for a shrewd or difficult woman..

This old woman, Lin Wangshi, firmly holds the key to the kitchen and also holds the right to speak in the household. She is cunning and arrogant, favors boys over girls, and is known as the number one shrew in the village. Her second daughter-in-law, Zhang Aihua, is as stupid as a pig and famous for gossip. The third daughter-in-law, Liu Min, is insidious and vicious, hiding a knife behind her smile.

Why does Cheng Yaoyao know so much about this family? Because the heroine in the original book is their granddaughter!

What a coincidence! This part was not written in the original book. Did the butterfly effect caused by me change the plot?

Cheng Yaoyao’s mind was in a mess. The only thing that was certain was that Cheng Nuonuo living in their house was like raising a gu ^[2]which is a term for a parasitic relationship or situation where one party benefits at the expense of another.; no one knew who would win in the end.