Chapter 116: Guodong in Trouble
Cai Xiufen froze mid-movement and returned to sit on the kang.
“Sister Manman, Comrade Mu and Comrade Xu are both so handsome—neither of them has a partner?”
What she really wanted to ask was: Among all the female comrades at the educated youth spot, is there really not a single one who likes them? Such handsome men are rare in this world—wouldn’t it be a pity to miss them?
Jiang Qiaohui paused while combing her hair, but no one noticed.
“Oh—someone is regretting dating Comrade Xie?” Bai Ningning drawled mockingly.
Lu Manman pushed her lightly, telling her to stop.
Cai Xiufen’s face flushed hot, and she quickly lowered her head.
Yue Xiaoying found it quite amusing. Clearly Bai Ningning was spouting nonsense, but could she really have guessed Cai Xiufen’s true thoughts?
“Who’s dating Comrade Xie?” Cai Xiufen adjusted her expression. “I only look out for him because we’re all educated youths together. If that caused any misunderstanding, I’ll stop doing it in the future.”
Lin Shuzhen smiled faintly, her meaning unclear.
Lu Manman gently said, “Comrade Mu and Comrade Xu may be good-looking, but their standards are high. Ordinary people don’t catch their eye.”
Bai Ningning hugged her arm and acted spoiled. “Sister Manman, don’t try to persuade me—I’m really looking forward to seeing her get thrown into the ditch by Comrade Mu or Comrade Xu!”
Lin Shuzhen covered her mouth, laughing.
Zhang Jingxian and Su Qianqian also looked amused.
Jiang Qiaohui patted Cai Xiufen’s hand. “Comrade Mu and Comrade Xu are both remarkable—very admirable. Sister Manman, could you tell us more about them? Maybe we could learn something from their experience and find flexible ways to contribute to building the Dongfanghong Brigade.”
Lu Manman disliked this kind of grandiose posturing. The first batch of university admission spots for worker-peasant-soldier students had been snatched away by one such hypocritical educated youth—who had done plenty of despicable things to get it.
“They’re men. I don’t know much about them. I’m tired, I’ll sleep first.”
Jiang Qiaohui felt the sudden chill in her attitude and was a little stunned. She didn’t press further, just picked up a book to read.
Yue Xiaoying noticed it was a high school textbook. “Comrade Jiang, why are you reading a high school book?”
Jiang Qiaohui smiled serenely. “It’s too hot. Haven’t you heard the saying ‘a calm heart keeps you cool’? Reading settles my mind.”
What a strange person.
Yue Xiaoying wondered if it was her imagination, but Jiang Qiaohui didn’t seem to like her. Every time they spoke, though Jiang Qiaohui smiled and spoke gently, she gave off an uncomfortable feeling. It even seemed she didn’t like anyone at the educated youth spot at all. But that didn’t make sense—she had only been here a month, and no one had wronged her.
Yue Xiaoying decided she was overthinking it, shut her mouth, and went to sleep.
The next morning, heading out, Cai Xiufen kept glancing at the next courtyard.
“Fanfan, why aren’t you leaving?” Xie Xiaojun’s gaze darkened. He handed her a thermos. “I made you brown sugar water—drink it if you get hungry. But we don’t have much left. Next time I go to the county, I’ll buy you more.”
Cai Xiufen wavered again. Xie Xiaojun really did treat her well…
Sometimes time crawled, sometimes it flew.
The first batch of grapes at home ripened.
Mu Lantu and Xu Huazhang picked them all and secretly weighed them with an electronic scale—a single bunch was nearly ten catties.
The skins were thin, the flesh plump, sweet and juicy. They ate an entire bunch between the two of them and didn’t even bother cooking lunch.
Wangcai couldn’t eat grapes, so he could only watch his two masters enjoy themselves with big, greedy eyes.
Mu Lantu didn’t neglect him though—whenever they ate grapes, they prepared watermelon or strawberries for him.
“Lantu, Huazhang! You home?”
It was Aunt Chunhua.
“Yes! Auntie, come on in!”
Mu Lantu quickly stowed the grapes into his space, while Xu Huazhang went to open the door.
“Auntie, please, come inside.”
“Oh, let’s go in and talk!”
Aunt Chunhua bustled in, radiant with joy.
Mu Lantu cut up some watermelon, teasing, “Auntie, have some watermelon. Why so happy today? Don’t tell me—you’re about to be a grandmother again?”
“No! Hahaha! But it’s something even better than that!” Aunt Chunhua replied.
“Oh?” Mu Lantu waited for her to continue.
Aunt Chunhua beamed. “It’s about my younger sister—great news!”
Her sister was Yang Lihua.
Yang Lihua had lived a bitter life—losing her daughter when young, her husband in middle age, raising her only son Tang Mingjie alone.
People around said she brought misfortune to her family. After her husband’s death, his family heartlessly drove her and Tang Mingjie out. She spent half her life steeped in hardship.
Fortunately, her son was outstanding. At seventeen, after bravely stepping in to help someone, he caught the eye of an officer who recommended him to the army. Now, at just twenty-five, he was already a battalion commander.
Originally, Tang Mingjie wanted his mother to live with him on base. But Yang Lihua didn’t want to uproot herself and feared being a burden, so she insisted on staying in her hometown. She was healthy, able to earn work points, and had Aunt Chunhua nearby to look after her. Life wasn’t bad.
Still, widows attract gossip.
Neither Aunt Chunhua nor Tang Mingjie felt easy about her living alone.
In truth, Yang Lihua wasn’t that old—just in her early forties. Aunt Chunhua had long thought about finding her a companion.
Yang Lihua refused—after suffering half her life and raising her child to adulthood, she finally enjoyed freedom. Why marry again only to serve a husband, in-laws, and stepchildren?
But this time the matchmaker introduced someone different—a retired soldier, now a team leader in the county transport brigade.
No in-laws, no children. He’d been wounded in battle and couldn’t father children. He hadn’t known at first; after three childless years, he and his wife went for tests and learned it was his issue. They divorced, and ever since, he had no heart to remarry.
But when the matchmaker told both sides about each other’s situation and character, they were moved. Neither demanded children—they just wanted someone to care for and be cared by, someone to pour tea when ill, someone to grow old with.
The brigade leader and Tang Mingjie both made inquiries—no problems came up.
Yang Lihua met the man a few times and got along well. The marriage was settled.
This time, Aunt Chunhua came for one thing: to trade for a jar of Mu Lantu’s pickled bamboo shoots with chili. These days wasteful banquets were frowned upon—even weddings weren’t an exception. Pickled shoots were humble in ingredients but impressive in taste—perfect for a wedding feast.
Xu Huazhang was reluctant to part with them—too many people wanted to trade for them, and Aunt Chunhua had already gotten two jars before. But he knew giving them was a mark of respect, so he brought one from storage.
“Auntie, will one jar be enough? If not, I’ll spare you half more. Lantu and I eat them with every meal—we don’t have many left. Hope you don’t mind.”
He wanted to discourage others from asking.
Mu Lantu nodded.
“One jar is plenty, more than enough!” Aunt Chunhua hugged it happily, not minding the weight. She knew how precious it was and wouldn’t dream of taking more. In fact, she was secretly thinking if she could squirrel away a bowl or two later.
She shoved two yuan into Mu Lantu’s hand and hurried off.
“No need to see me out—it’s too hot outside!”
Mu Lantu walked her to the gate anyway. Closing it, he heard Jiang Qiaohui talking with her.
Xu Huazhang looked at the dwindling store of pickled shoots and scowled.
Mu Lantu leaned against him to comfort him. “We still have a lot hidden away.”
But Xu Huazhang stayed unhappy.
Seeing him like this melted Mu Lantu’s heart. He hugged him and kissed him twice. “We’ll make a few more jars tonight. We can buy bamboo shoots from the system store—there’s no limit.”
Xu Huazhang shook his head. “We’ll wait till it cools down. Too hot now.”
He went back to fiddling with the grape wine.
Neither had brewed wine before, so they asked Old Hunter He for advice. He knew how to make many kinds—grain and fruit wines. His methods were rough, but good enough. Country folk didn’t fuss about taste; he had learned just to have something to drink when hunting in the mountains.
Now, with food scarce, few wasted grain on wine—it was a luxury.
Mu Lantu had brought him twenty catties of ordinary grapes from the system store—a gift that delighted the old man, who then told them everything he knew about winemaking.
Since their harvest was large, Mu Lantu and Xu Huazhang used big vats, keeping them in the space where time flowed normally so fermentation would proceed.
Later, they could brew smaller batches in jars for everyday drinking.
Bang, bang, bang!
“That knock—it must be Jiaze,” Mu Lantu said.
Xu Huazhang frowned. He disliked his noisy childhood friend more and more. “So annoying.”
Mu Lantu laughed at his deadpan complaint and went to open the door.
Miao Jiaze slipped in, shut the gate behind him, and dropped the latch.
“Terrible news! Comrade Zhang is getting married!”
Mu Lantu couldn’t blame Huazhang for being annoyed. Why say terrible? Marriage was a good thing!
Miao Jiaze helped himself to a tomato from the table. “Middle of the day and you two keep the gate closed? Aren’t you hot?”
“We were napping,” Mu Lantu said casually.
Miao Jiaze felt a pang of jealousy. He was back from work in the fields, and these two were still sleeping!
Xu Huazhang put down his book and asked coolly, “So what exactly are you here for?”
Miao Jiaze slapped his forehead.
“Here’s the story. After work, a bunch of us went to the river to wash up. Just then, a village girl washing clothes fell in. The rains recently made the current strong—it was dangerous. Comrade Zhang jumped in to save her… they ended up clinging together. Two aunties at the scene insisted the girl’s reputation was ruined and demanded Comrade Zhang take responsibility, so…”
005 popped up: [Host, this is the classic trope in women’s fiction of this era! Want to go watch the drama unfold?]
