RYEY – Chapter 25 Don’t Insult the Dog

Cheng Qiao smiled and nodded. Of course it hurt—her forehead had a hole poked in it, how could it not?

“This Chen Chunhua, she’s closest with Xu Laidi. You’ll have to guard against her in the future.”

“Thank you, Sister Chunmei. As long as her family can afford compensation, even if it happens again, it’s fine.”

“You silly girl, what nonsense are you talking about? Your body is your own. Once the bandage is removed, who knows how big the wound will be? If it scars, you might really be disfigured.”

Cheng Qiao nodded. She wasn’t afraid of being disfigured—she was only afraid that Li Huan might once again suffer at the hands of Xu Laidi. So the urgent matter now was to deal with Xu Laidi first.

“Sister Chunmei, what are you eating today?”

“What else is there to eat? Just some wild greens boiled with cornmeal porridge, and a few sorghum pancakes. These days, we don’t ask for good food, just to fill our stomachs. Oh right, here are two pieces of meat I saved for you.”

“Today I bought a strip of pork and some rice and flour. How about we make dumplings?”

“You… Cheng Qiao, you’re truly the lucky star of our educated youth spot. How did you even manage to buy pork and fine grain?”

“Well, since you’ve already called me a lucky star, of course a lucky star can buy things like that. In the future, when you all go to the fields for harvest, if I have nothing to do, I’ll go wander around the county town. If I see pork or anything, I’ll buy it back.”

“Alright then. Where’s the pork? I’ll handle it. You go lie down and don’t move.”

“Okay, the pork and flour are in the room. Come on, let’s go get them.”

When Han Chunmei saw the well-marbled strip of pork and at least ten jin of flour, her mouth watered. But then she thought of the fact that she had no money and no ration tickets in her pocket, and her face turned embarrassed.

“This, Cheng Qiao, I…”

“Sister Chunmei, are you out of money and tickets? Don’t worry. You know I’m marrying Li Huan soon—how about you help me make a wedding dress? Look, I even brought the fabric.”

Cheng Qiao pulled out a piece of bright red cotton fabric. It was enough to make a coat. If made slightly larger, she could wear it over her thin padded jacket. It would look festive for the wedding.

Han Chunmei touched the fabric. Her eyes instantly filled with regret. Such a good girl, and she was marrying a scoundrel. What a pity.

“Cheng Qiao, you…”

“Sister Chunmei, I’m willing. Li Huan may not have the best reputation, but he saved my life after all.”

“That’s true… but it feels like such a grievance for you.”

“It’s not a grievance. Let’s hurry and make dumplings. Time’s tight—I’ll help you.”

Cheng Qiao cheerfully carried the pork and dragged Han Chunmei into the kitchen. Han Chunmei blinked, hiding the wetness in her eyes, and followed her in.

“Cheng Qiao, where did you buy this flour? It’s so white.”

“Shh…”

Han Chunmei’s face changed. Now she understood how Cheng Qiao could buy fine grain and pork—this little girl had risked her life and gone to the black market.

“I’ll mix in some cornmeal. Otherwise it’ll look too white and wasteful.”

Without asking further, Han Chunmei mixed in a good portion of cornmeal, added water, and began kneading the dough. Meanwhile, Cheng Qiao washed the pork, cut it into cubes, then chopped it into minced meat.

After kneading the dough, Han Chunmei went to their private plot, cut a Chinese cabbage, and pulled up a handful of scallions, preparing to make pork, cabbage, and scallion filling.

The two of them worked quickly. Before long, plump white dumplings covered the bamboo mat. Han Chunmei counted them—168 dumplings in total.

“The male educated youths are three, and there are six of us here—nine people total. That’s eighteen dumplings each, and the remaining six are yours.”

“Sister Chunmei, give the extra six to the boys. They’re men, their appetites are big—eighteen dumplings might not fill them.”

“As you say. You add water to the pot, I’ll start the fire.”

Just then, Xu Laidi pushed the door open. Seeing Cheng Qiao sitting by the table, she sneered: “Well, well, our young lady has returned. Such good fortune—coming back just in time for a meal.”

“Xu Laidi, explain yourself. Who are you calling ‘young lady’? If you can’t explain, don’t blame me for slapping you.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

Xu Laidi stepped back but still tried to sound tough, shouting at Cheng Qiao.

Cheng Qiao stood up. Xu Laidi retreated another step, just as Zhang Yuefang came in. Seeing Xu Laidi about to cause trouble again, she deliberately bumped into her. Xu Laidi, unprepared, nearly fell.

“What did you bump me for?”

“A good dog doesn’t block the way. Don’t you know you’re in the way?”

“Zhang Yuefang, you actually called me a dog! You—”

“You said it yourself, not me. Right, Cheng Qiao, you heard it too.”

Cheng Qiao nodded and pulled Zhang Yuefang toward the kitchen: “Sister Yuefang, how can you talk to a dog? No—actually, we can’t insult dogs like that.”

Zhang Yuefang burst out laughing. Seeing Han Chunmei still busy, she rubbed her stomach and shouted: “Sister Chunmei, I’m starving! Is the food ready yet?”

“It’s ready. Come help out—we’ve got good stuff today.”

“Really? What’s for dinner?”

Zhang Yuefang’s eyes lit up. She rushed to the pot. When she saw dumplings floating to the surface, she cried out happily: “Wow! Dumplings today!”

Hearing that, Xu Laidi glanced at Cheng Qiao. Needless to ask, the food must have come from her. She instantly regretted offending her earlier.

“Cheng Qiao, I heard from Chen Chunhua that her family paid you three hundred yuan. You’re really lucky—for just a small injury, three hundred yuan!”

“Yeah, I got three hundred yuan. Do you want some?”

Cheng Qiao sneered coldly at her.

Of course Xu Laidi wanted it, but could she say so? She was seething with jealousy, but then she thought—at least Cheng Qiao was marrying a useless scoundrel. That was truly satisfying.

“Xu Laidi, if you’re not eating, get out of the way. Don’t delay everyone else’s meal.”

Xiao Qin rushed over and shoved Xu Laidi aside. Xu Laidi didn’t dare protest. The sisters always had each other’s backs—offend one, and the other would fight too.

“Today’s flour and pork were bought by Cheng Qiao. So anyone who wants dumplings has to pay. One bowl is three liang, eighteen dumplings, seven mao per bowl. No grain or meat tickets required. If you want to eat, just pay.”

“I’ll take two bowls. Here’s one yuan and four mao.”

Qian Longkun didn’t hesitate to hand over the money. In a state-run restaurant, dumplings cost one yuan and two mao per liang, with much stingier filling, plus they needed both grain and meat tickets.

Jiang Guangrong looked embarrassed—he had no money left. Zhao Xiaobao nudged Qian Longkun and gave him a glance. Qian Longkun immediately understood and handed over another seven mao.

“Three bowls for us male educated youths. Yuefang, go scoop them—make sure there are eighteen in each bowl.”

Zhang Yuefang nodded eagerly and went to the steaming pot to fish them out. Xiao Ping, Xiao Qin, and Xiao Fang dashed back to their dorms to fetch money.

“Han Chunmei, you’re out of money. How do you still have the face to eat dumplings?”