Bamboo Poles 

As the male protagonist of the original story, Jin Chengren has a culturally significant name given by his grandfather, who was a landowner in the old days and had studied in Japan. Naturally, his name couldn’t be something like “Liberation” or “Founding of the Country,” which was common at the time. 

After all, as the male protagonist, he is tall and strikingly handsome, and everyone around knows him. However, due to his family’s “poor background,” he hasn’t married yet. Recently, in order to earn labor points, he even went to the back mountain to dig for coal. 

He wasn’t handsome in the same way as Meng Yuanzheng but had a warm, cheerful charm. He was optimistic and always approached with a smile. 

“Hello, Secretary, Zhu Wanqin, and Miaoyin. We’ll be leaving first.” 

The secretary nodded, “Go ahead.” 

“Zhu Wanqin, where did you put your things? Let me help you move it,” Jin Chengren offered. 

Zhu Wanqin forced a slight smile despite looking somewhat distant, “It’s under the big tree over there. Thank you, comrade.” 

“No need to thank me, it’s just a small thing,” Jin Chengren said with a smile. 

After the two left, Lin Miaoyin returned and found Meng Yuanzheng leaning against a tree, looking absentminded. 

“Let’s go home.” 

Meng Yuanzheng opened his eyes, looked in the direction of the crowd, and saw Jin Chengren carrying Zhu Wanqin’s suitcase in one hand and her bedding in the other, with a large bag slung over his back, while Zhu Wanqin held a net bag. 

“Let’s go.” 

“How about we eat meat for lunch? The weather’s getting hotter, and if we don’t eat soon, it’ll go bad.” Lin Miaoyin walked with her hands behind her, kicking small pebbles along the way. 

“Hmm.” 

“What do you feel like eating? How about some twice-cooked pork?” 

“Okay.” 

She thought he really valued his words like gold and curled her lips. 

After returning home, Meng Yuanzheng went to the well to get the meat. Lin Miaoyin kneaded and rested the dough, then began preparing the seasonings. 

The meat was taken, cut in half, and washed, and the rest was salted and store it deep in the cupboard. 

First, she blanched the pork in cold water, then take it out and cut it into slices. 

Then, she finely chopped the pickled vegetables and cut some peppers. She heated the pot, added lard, a little bean paste that Mother Lin gave her, and fried it until red oil comes out, then add the lean meat and pickled vegetables, and stir-fry over high heat.  

She was pleased to find that Meng Yuanzheng controlled the fire exactly to her liking, adjusting it high and low as needed.  

Finally, she added the peppers, salt, and soy sauce, stirred, and it was ready. 

Then she also cooked a pot of noodles and set the table. 

Although they’d had meat yesterday, it was snake meat with little flesh, and they’d shared half with the Lin family, which hadn’t been very satisfying. Today was their first real meat feast.  

For fear of being discovered, Lin Miaoyin closed the yard door and the door of the room, and the two of them ate in the dim room. 

The pickled vegetables fried with lard, combined with the spiciness of the peppers, were very appetizing. It was fat but not greasy. The two of them ate everything in the bowl clean and even used the leftover pickled vegetables to mix with the noodles. 

It’s really exciting, the feeling of eating meat secretly. 

Meng Yuanzheng even gave all the lean meat to her and ate the fat and pork belly himself. 

After eating and drinking, Lin Miaoyin slumped on the chair and didn’t want to move. Meng Yuanzheng stood up to collect the bowls. 

“Hey, what are your plans for the future?” she asked, patting her belly.  

“Let’s take it one step at a time.” 

“This meat is so delicious. Don’t you want to eat it every day?” She stared at the empty bowl with a nostalgic look and licked her lips. 

“You just ate, and you’re hungry again?” Meng Yuanzheng glanced at her with a slight smile, picked up the bowl, and headed to the kitchen. Lin Miaoyin followed, “I wish I could eat it every day.” 

“But we don’t have that much money. The meat on the black market is expensive, and the supply is limited.” Meng Yuanzheng sat down and lit a fire to boil water for washing dishes. 

Lin Miaoyin added the water to the pot, “Where did you get the meat that day?” 

“I don’t know.” 

“You didn’t ask around? We’ll need to buy more in the future.”  

If they knew the market price of meat, it would be easier for them to buy meat in the future. In fact, she dreamed of starting a breeding farm. 

“I’ll take care of the meat supply. You don’t have to worry about it. I’ll make sure you can eat it once a week,” Meng Yuanzheng said in a deep voice. 

Lin Miaoyin was so amused by his words that she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Forget it—if we keep doing that, you’ll end up selling everything you own.” 

The two were washing dishes when Lin Miaoyin suddenly had an idea, “I just thought of a way to make money!” 

“Mm?” 

Meng Yuanzheng was holding wood ash in his hand and smearing it on the bowl. He looked at her when he heard this. 

“I have an idea, but I’ll tell you once it’s planned out,” she said playfully, keeping him in suspense.  

Meng Yuanzheng didn’t ask any more questions and focused on washing the dishes calmly. Just then, she remembered another matter about the criticisms meeting for him and Zhang Hui. 

Regarding these two, the team decided that both Meng Yuanzheng and Zhang Hui would conduct public self-criticisms. Because Zhang Hui had pushed Lin Miaoyin into the pond, she would also receive a serious warning and would not be included in future awards and promotions. 

As for Zhang Hui’s accusation that Lin Miaoyin hit her, nobody paid it any mind, leaving her to swallow her grievance. 

“In three days, it will be your self-criticism meeting.” She counted the days on her fingers. 

Meng Yuanzheng paused. “Criticism for what?” 

Right, he’d forgotten what he’d done.  

Lin Miaoyin kindly reminded him, “You and a female youth were, um, discovered by me, and then everyone found out, and she pushed me into the pond.”  

“What did I do?” Meng Yuanzheng looked unhappy. 

“Just messing around with some ambiguity; don’t be nervous; it’s nothing serious,” she smiled. 

“Okay, then I’ll reflect on it.” Meng Yuanzheng lowered his head and continued washing the dishes. 

“It’s not a big deal. Just go up and admit the mistake. With me here, they won’t dare to throw rotten vegetables at you,” she comforted him. 

“Mmm.” 

“Mm… okay.” She put down the fire tongs and saw that the sun was strong outside, which was perfect for drying the quilts. Thinking of the smelly sheets and pillowcases that she had slept on for several days, she made a quick decision to wash the sheets today. 

“Let’s wash the sheets and quilt covers and replace them with clean ones later.” She stood up, went back to the room, and started to take off the sheets, quilt covers, and pillowcases. She then went to find a large basin, stuffed everything in it, and grabbed Meng Yuanzheng’s soap. 

Meng Yuanzheng had already finished washing the dishes and was drawing water from the well. It didn’t take long to fill the basin with water.  

She squatted on the ground and began to scrub. “You go and get some bamboo poles to make a three-legged frame for hanging them later.” 

But she immediately felt that Meng Yuanzheng would not be able to do it. “Actually, I’ll handle it, you wash this instead.” 

“No need, I’ll do it. Just call me to fetch water when you need it,” he said as he walked toward the back of the house.  

By the time she finished washing the first round, more than ten minutes had passed, and Meng Yuanzheng still hadn’t returned. She couldn’t help but get up and check behind the house, only to find him with his head lowered, facing away from her.  

“What are you doing?” She walked over quickly. 

Meng Yuanzheng retracted his hand as if he was frightened. She looked carefully and saw that there was a lot of blood on Meng Yuanzheng’s hand; the axe was placed aside, and some bamboo sticks were scattered on the ground. How did he cut himself? 

“Why didn’t you tell me you were hurt? Let me see.” She glared at him, grabbed his hand, and took a look. The wound was not big, just some broken skin.  

She threw his hand aside in disgust. “It’s just a scratch, nothing serious.”  

Meng Yuanzheng pursed his lips and said nothing. Suddenly, he bent down, grabbed the axe, and started cutting the bamboo again. 

“Hey, hey, stop cutting. Doesn’t it hurt?” Lin Miaoyin stopped him. 

“It’s just a scratch, nothing serious,” he replied. 

Author’s note:  

Meng Yuanzheng: I got hurt, and she still made me chop the bamboo. She doesn’t care about me at all! 😣