B5SB -Chapter 328 The Story of the Handwritten Sketchbook

In the blink of an eye, it was the last day of 1974.

Lu Huailin took Haohao out to pay New Year visits.

Gu Yihan, wearing a plaid apron, hummed a tune as she fried the New Year treats she loved.

Two hours later, she pounded her sore waist.

Her gaze fell on the stove, where rows of neatly arranged, overflowing plates of fried meatballs, fried lotus root sandwiches, and fried ribbonfish were laid out.

The corners of her lips lifted slightly.

Just then, Auntie Zhang walked in carrying a large sea bowl.

With a smile, she called out, “Xiaohan, how are your New Year supplies coming along?”

Hearing this, Gu Yihan came out of the kitchen, walked over with a smile, and said, “Pretty much done.”

Auntie Zhang handed the bowl to her and said cheerfully, “Our Old Zhao exchanged for ten quails at the production team. I made them into tofu meatballs. You and Commander Lu should have a taste. Don’t refuse them!”

Gu Yihan didn’t refuse and accepted it with a smile.

“Auntie, what are you saying? These quail meatballs are rare. Stew them with cabbage and vermicelli—oh, the taste is so good you could swallow your tongue!”

Auntie Zhang’s eyes curved into slits with her smile. She loved talking to Gu Yihan.

Every time, Gu Yihan’s words made her heart bloom with joy.

Carrying the bowl, Gu Yihan went into the kitchen and poured the quail tofu meatballs into a large porcelain basin. She then filled another bowl with fried lotus root sandwiches and walked back out smiling.

She noticed Auntie Zhang staring blankly at the handwritten sketchbook on the table.

A trace of confusion flashed in her eyes. Then she smiled and said, “Auntie, take these lotus root sandwiches home for Huzi to try.”

Auntie Zhang came back to herself. Seeing the fried lotus root in the bowl, she forced a small smile.

“Xiaohan, you’re too polite.”

Gu Yihan smiled slightly.

She wasn’t someone who didn’t understand social etiquette.

No matter how good a relationship was, it had to be reciprocal. If one side kept giving without return, even the closest bond would fade over time.

Out of the corner of her eye, Auntie Zhang glanced at the table and casually asked, “Xiaohan, do you also like this kind of black-and-white drawing?”

Gu Yihan froze for a moment, not understanding what she meant, and looked at her in confusion.

Auntie Zhang smiled and pointed at the sketchbook on the dining table.

“I mean this kind of black-and-white picture.”

Only then did Gu Yihan realize she was talking about the sketches.

She smiled and explained, “Auntie, this isn’t just black-and-white drawings. It’s called sketching.”

“Sketching?”

Auntie Zhang repeated the word softly, chewing on it. A trace of loneliness flashed in her eyes.

“Xiaohan, learning this is useless. They all say it’s ‘feudal, capitalist, and revisionist.’ We’re not allowed to draw it or even look at it.”

After saying that, she looked up at Gu Yihan seriously and warned her, “Xiaohan, don’t let others see you reading this kind of book.”

Seeing Auntie Zhang’s nervous expression, Gu Yihan couldn’t help but laugh.

“Auntie, don’t worry. This is teaching material from the shirt factory. Nothing will happen.”

She walked around Auntie Zhang, went to the dining table, and handed the book to her with a smile.

“Auntie, take a look.”

Auntie Zhang hurriedly placed the big bowl on the table, wiped her hands hard on her blue clothes, and carefully took the notebook with both hands.

When she opened it and saw the familiar handwriting, her heart clenched.

Her nose stung, and tears rolled down uncontrollably.

Seeing her suddenly cry, Gu Yihan was startled.

She quickly helped Auntie Zhang sit on the sofa, gently patting her shoulder.

Softly, she asked, “Auntie, what’s wrong?”

Auntie Zhang raised her eyes and wiped her face. Her voice trembled.

“This… this is my master’s sketchbook.”

Gu Yihan widened her eyes in disbelief.

“Your master?”

Auntie Zhang nodded gently, crying as she spoke.

When she was young, her family was very poor. They had nothing to eat.

When she was starving, she would go up the mountain to dig wild roots. Sometimes she even went into muddy rivers to catch eels.

Once, while catching eels, she slipped and fell into the water. She couldn’t swim and struggled for a long time.

Just before she lost consciousness, her half-crazy master happened to save her.

“Half-crazy?” Gu Yihan tilted her head in confusion.

Such a meticulous sketchbook couldn’t have been made by someone who was truly insane.

Auntie Zhang didn’t notice her doubt. She lowered her head and gently stroked the notebook.

“Yes. Half-crazy. Sometimes he was clear-headed, sometimes confused. When he was lucid, he taught me how to draw. He would pat my head and repeatedly tell me that I must study. He said that studying was the only way out for girls.”

A miserable smile appeared on her face.

“But my family couldn’t even afford food. How could they send a girl to school?”

Gu Yihan recalled their first meeting. Auntie Zhang had been neatly dressed and spoke elegantly.

She never seemed illiterate.

“Later, when Master saw I still wasn’t in school, he began teaching me to read. Whenever he had time, he taught me to draw and told me stories I had never heard before.”

As she spoke, Auntie Zhang’s eyes shone, as if she were lost in beautiful memories.

But soon, sadness crept back onto her face. Her voice grew low and choked.

“Later, Master died. He said he finally remembered who he was and where his home was. He wanted to go back. But he died before he could.”

Hearing this, Gu Yihan felt her chest tighten and couldn’t help but sigh deeply.

“After that, I kept reading the notebooks he left me. But I couldn’t recognize most of the words. So I could only use a burnt fire stick to copy the drawings again and again. It wasn’t until my two children finished high school that I could finally read everything.”

Looking at Auntie Zhang, Gu Yihan felt a wave of heartache. She reached out and tightly held her hand in silent comfort.

Auntie Zhang smiled faintly at her and said gratefully, “Xiaohan, thank you for listening to me.”

Gu Yihan shook her head with a smile and asked softly, “Auntie, do you still have your notebooks?”

Sadness flickered in Auntie Zhang’s eyes. She shook her head.

“No.

“In ’68, Old Zhao was afraid they’d bring disaster to the family. He burned them all behind my back.”

Hearing this, anger surged in Gu Yihan’s heart.

Those notebooks were Auntie Zhang’s emotional anchor.

Yet Zhao Xu burned them without even asking.

He showed no respect at all for the wife who had shared hardships with him.