Jiang Lin noticed someone selling large buns filled with tofu, noodles, and meat—each as big as Xiao Bao’s face, no ration tickets needed, costing just one cent each.

She bought four.

Wen Sheng ate two himself, while Jiang Lin and Da Bao and Xiao Bao shared the other two.

In the end, Wen Sheng finished them off.

After a while, a man approached Wen Sheng cautiously and whispered, “Glass, steel, interested?”

Wen Sheng replied, “Yes.”

The man looked around and gestured, “Follow me.”

Wen Sheng quickly stuffed the last bun into his mouth and called out to Jiang Lin, who was taking Da Bao and Xiao Bao to look at old book stalls, “Mom, they have glass and steel here. Didn’t you want to buy glass for the windows?”

As soon as he shouted, everyone looked over, and the seller panicked and ran.

Wen Sheng said, “Hey, don’t run, we want to buy.”

Jiang Lin hurriedly pulled him back, laughing, “It’s okay, we’ll buy later.”

She reminded Wen Sheng to be quieter when buying things.

Wen Sheng didn’t quite understand, “But so many people are selling here.”

Everyone was selling their wares, so why was that man acting so suspiciously?

Jiang Lin explained the difference between selling industrial goods and sneakily selling food, but Wen Sheng still didn’t fully get it.

She told him that the man might be selling stolen goods, not his own.

Wen Sheng angrily said, “If it’s not his, he shouldn’t sell it. We should catch him and take him to the police.”

Da Bao chuckled, “Catch the seller, but not the buyer. He’s scared.”

Xiao Bao added, “That’s called profiteering.”

Jiang Lin said, “Let’s not bother with them, let’s go to the bookstore.”

She wanted to buy some reference books but didn’t find anything suitable, so they headed home.

In the afternoon of the 14th, Jiang Lin visited the brick factory.

Although she didn’t work there, she supervised the details meticulously, especially safety.

Anyone not following the rules was immediately dismissed; she wouldn’t tolerate any negligence.

It was better not to work at all than to risk accidents due to carelessness, which would cause more harm than benefit.

Because it was harvest season, the labor force at the brick factory was reduced by half, with only skilled workers remaining.

The brigade had tractors and other agricultural machinery for tasks like harvesting, plowing, harrowing, and planting, which saved a lot of effort and supported each household sending a strong laborer to make bricks.

Compared to other brigades dealing with conflicts between agricultural production and sideline businesses, Water Locust Village had fewer troubles.

Jiang Lin went to check on Liu Da Peng and his brothers.

The brothers were deeply regretful.

Initially, their daughter being rescued from drowning should have been a good thing.

Little did they know it would lead to them working for free at the brick factory to settle debts.

At first, they thought everyone spoke casually like that—what harm was there in apologizing for a misunderstanding?

Why did it become a legal issue, resulting in being forced to work and pay debts?

These days, in addition to their regular work, they had to find time to make bricks, which exhausted them.

Brick-making was labor-intensive, unlike their usual work in the brigade, where they could slack off.

Here, how could they slack off? Everyone was busy, and they couldn’t just stand around.

Therefore, they had to keep moving.

Jiang Lin said, “Work hard, understand the exhaustion, reflect on what mistakes you made. Don’t make such mistakes again in the future.”

What else could the brothers say?

They could only accept their bad luck and not mention how miserable they felt.

Guo Minying was also there, as demanded by the brigade, forced to come and spend an hour every day making bricks!

Just an hour made her nearly collapse!

After all, she still had to work during the day for the autumn harvest!

In just two days, she was so exhausted she looked pale and weak, without any energy left to scheme.

Jiang Lin looked on with satisfaction, then went to wash her feet and handkerchief in the river.

She took Wen Sheng home.

Just as they reached the North-South Avenue, they saw a military-green truck parked there.

“Wen Sheng, your dad’s back!” Jiang Lin exclaimed happily, sprinting towards home.

Wen Sheng, equally joyful, grabbed Jiang Lin’s arm and ran with her towards home.

Jiang Lin muttered to herself, “…”

Meanwhile, Cheng Rushan, Dai Guohua, and Zhu Junjie were moving things nearby.

When they saw Wen Sheng running back with Jiang Lin in tow, it looked like they were floating on air.

The three men fell silent for a moment.

Zhu Junjie chuckled, “Sister-in-law, your water-floating skills are impressive.”

Wen Sheng gently put Jiang Lin down and went to help Cheng Rushan with the heavy lifting.

Da Bao and Xiao Bao were messing around in the driver’s seat, honking and playing with the steering wheel.

“Wensheng, come drive!” Xiaobao called out to him.

Wensheng hesitated, “I’ll move the stuff first.”

Meanwhile, Jianglin glanced at Cheng Rushan, who was sweating from moving things.

He unbuttoned his shirt, revealing his chest which was unusually white against his sun-darkened face.

She stared for a moment, feeling a bit embarrassed, then quickly looked away and smiled at him, “I thought you were coming back tomorrow.”

Cheng Rushan saw her running with sweat on her forehead and nose, wiped it off with his hand, and casually picked a pomegranate from the car, peeled it with his bare hands, and handed it to her, “It’s sweet.”

The pomegranate was a wine-red color, with each seed glistening and inviting.

Jianglin tasted it and her eyes lit up, “It’s really sweet!”

Seeing her so happy made Cheng Rushan feel that all his tiredness was worth it.

Why did she look more and more beautiful to him?

Was it because he hadn’t seen her enough before, or because they were often apart?

Since Chinese New Year, he had been home less than a handful of times.

Jianglin got pomegranate juice on her face, and Cheng Rushan wiped it off with the back of his finger.

She handed him a handful of pomegranate seeds to eat.

Cheng Rushan lowered his head and kissed her fair palm lightly before continuing to move things.

Daobao and Xiaobao leaned out from the driver’s seat, laughing loudly, “Lilin~~”

Jianglin ran over, “You two, get down quickly, don’t break the car.”

Dabao said, “The keys aren’t even in it, how could we break it?”

Xiaobao added, “Linlin, come teach us to drive.”

Jiang Lin went up to give them pomegranate and told them not to touch the steering wheel, “It’ll break.”

Dabao and Xiaobao obediently got down and helped with the moving.

Dai Guohua handed Jiang Lin a roll of leather without hair for tanning, saying, “Sister, this is what Brother Rushan brought back for you.”

Curiously, Jiang Lin asked, “What kind of leather?”

“There’s cowhide and sheepskin, good for making jackets, shoes, and bags,” Dai Guohua explained as they carried it inside.

They also brought back some pomegranates, cantaloupes, raisins, and wolfberries.

These could be stored for a long time, and they bought half a carriage load to try selling while transporting mission supplies.

Unfortunately, they were all sold out in the provincial capital before they could even bring them home.

Cheng Rushan managed to keep two baskets and brought them back to share with a few people.

Dai Guohua and others were reluctant to part with them, thinking they should sell them since they had brought them from afar.

Cheng Rushan, however, had a different idea.

He told them, “We came out to earn money for our families, right? Even if something is good, we should bring it home first to share with our parents, wives, and children. There are plenty of opportunities to make money.”

With Cheng Rushan leading the way, Dai Guohua and the others changed their minds.

They felt it was worthwhile to bring good things home to see their families happy.

Despite the hardships, they felt happy too.

Zhu Junjie rushed over, carrying a basket of fruits and vegetables, and winked at Jianglin teasingly, “Sister-in-law, do you know about my brother’s good news?”

Jiang Lin asked, “What good news? He hasn’t told me yet.”

Zhu Junjie grinned, “Let him tell you himself.” He hurried off to deliver the goods.

Once they unloaded Cheng Rushan’s share, they secured the car’s panels and went to eat.

They brought back some dried yak meat, a jar of specialty wine, and other snacks like cheese, large flatbreads, and tea noodles. Jianglin asked where they had gone, and they explained they had traveled through Northwest China and bought many local specialties.

These were rare finds locally, and Dabao and Xiaobao were excited to share their newfound knowledge with their classmates.

Yan Runzhi and Cheng Yunzhi prepared a simple meal for everyone, making a large pot of noodles that could be either mixed or in soup, topped with stir-fried scallions and eggs, minced meat with chili sauce, and sesame peanut sauce for each to adjust to their own taste.

Dai Guohua and Zhu Junjie wanted to drive away but played rock-paper-scissors to decide, with Zhu Junjie losing and thus unable to drink alcohol.

Dai Guohua proudly dragged Cheng Rushan to drink heartily.

Throughout the journey, except for stops for accommodation, Cheng Rushan didn’t allow drinking alcohol while on the road, even if not driving, which frustrated Dai Guohua.

Cheng Rushan drank a lot with him, and Dai Guohua ended up unable to hold his head up straight, discovering Cheng Rushan’s high tolerance for alcohol the hard way.

“Drink, but you…”

Cheng Rushan smiled and put down his wine glass to start eating noodles.

He finished his portion, and Jianglin served him more, surprised when he ate four large bowls.

Jianglin whispered, “Tonight, eat a little less. It’s not good to eat so much when you’re not growing.”

Cheng Rushan smiled at her, “It’s okay, I’m not overeating.”

Yan Runzhi said to Jianglin, “When Rushan was growing up, he had a big appetite and was often hungry. He didn’t know his full capacity until he could finally eat his fill.”

Hearing this made Jianglin feel sorry for him.

She patted Cheng Rushan’s back gently, “Poor kid, luckily it didn’t affect your growth.”

Cheng Rushan put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth with a towel, held Jiang Lin’s hand, and said with a smile, “Mom, actually I wasn’t hungry. Back on the farm, I used to sneak out at midnight to catch fish. I couldn’t use a fire, so I wrapped them in mud and buried them underground to cook. It smelled amazing.”

Everyone laughed. Dabao and Xiaobao didn’t understand but found it amusing and said they wanted to try cooking fish that way.

Cheng Yunzhi and Yan Runzhi knew the hardships during that time.

Cheng Rushan was so hungry that he caught frogs, snakes, and field mice, secretly cooked them, and brought them home to share, always afraid of being caught by patrols.

He knew every hole in the farm’s fence so well that when he grew up, he could easily climb out, even if there were barbed wire or spikes.

He’d use something to boost himself and could climb out in no time.

Jiang Lin gently stroked his lower back to comfort him, inadvertently stirring his emotions.

After dinner, they chatted about their adventures outside. Dai Guohua, a bit tipsy, spoke without inhibition, revealing many embarrassing stories about himself, much to Dabao and Xiaobao’s delight.

They kept asking him more questions until they unearthed many of Dai Guohua’s secrets.

“Mom, I want to go out with Dad in the car too!” Dabao leaned against Jiang Lin, sitting properly, while Xiaobao squirmed in her lap like a little candy, “Mom, can I?”

Jianglin replied, “But I don’t drive, and even if I say yes, you have to ask Dad.”

Xiaobao wriggled into Cheng Rushan’s arms, “Dad, next time I want to go with Dabao.”

Cheng Rushan lifted Xiaobao and playfully tossed him in the air, making Xiaobao giggle, “You still go to school, and besides, You still too young. Wait until you past ten!”

Wensheng chimed in, “Then I’m good to go!”

Dabao and Xiaobao immediately looked at him with envy.

Cheng Rushan teased, “If you go, who will protect Mom?”

Wensheng slapped his forehead, “Oh yeah, I can’t go either.”

After finishing his noodles with a satisfied burp, Zhu Junjie complimented Yan Runzhi, “Auntie, your cooking is really delicious.”

Yan Runzhi chuckled, “You have to eat your fill here, no holding back.”

Zhu Junjie patted his stomach, “Auntie, I’ve had to loosen my belt three times. Does that sound like holding back? In the future, I’ll have my wife learn to cook from you.” He joked about his slightly pudgy belly.

He turned to Cheng Rushan, “Brother, you learned kung fu when you were young. Why don’t you teach Daobao and Xiaobao?”

Cheng Rushan smiled, “Learning those things is too tough. They don’t need to.” He couldn’t bear to see his wife and children suffer and just wanted them to grow up healthy like other children.

Dabao and Xiaobao pulled Wensheng aside to jot down the funny stories Dai Guohua had shared, planning to add Jianglin into the mix and tell their friends later.

Dai Guohua had already dozed off, and when he woke up, he bid everyone farewell and headed home.

The family saw them off at the intersection and watched as they drove away.

Yan Runzhi said, “Bao’ers Mother, you and Dongsheng go for a stroll. Cheng Yunzhi and I will take Wensheng and the kids to meet some people.” After dinner, they often helped shell corn at the collective farm and chatted with the elders, part of their routine now.

Years had passed, and everyone needed to let go of some memories.

Their old acquaintances were aging; some had passed away last winter, and a few were unwell this year.

Yan Runzhi accompanied Cheng Yunzhi to visit and talk with them, helping them slowly come to terms with their own thoughts.

As the sun set, the young couple walked along the riverbank, greeted warmly by the community members finishing work.

As fewer people remained, Cheng Rushan held Jianglin’s hand by the riverbank, taking a slow stroll together.

Willow trees swayed gently in the breeze, wildflowers bloomed on the banks, and the sunset cast shimmering golden light on the water.

Flocks of geese and ducks glided peacefully on the river, creating a serene scene where time seemed to slow down.

Jianglin told Cheng Rushan about Wensheng saving someone, saying, “There are truly parents like that in the world, which is infuriating.”

Cheng Rushan put his arm around her shoulder and gently squeezed, “There are all kinds of people in the world. Only those who love you are worth your anger.”

Jianglin laughed, “I’m not angry. I had them make adobe bricks, and that made them mad instead.”

The setting sun seemed to be about to fall into her eyes. Cheng Rushan gazed at her, lowered his head, and kissed her on the cheek.

…

As night fell, the two walked hand in hand back home. Jiang Lin smiled and said, “We always watch the sunset. Next time, let’s watch the sunrise!”

Cheng Rushan smiled gently, his arm around her waist. “I’d love to watch the sunrise with you too, but I’m afraid you won’t be able to get up.”