RYEY – Chapter 33 What Can You Do to Me

“I’m going to the county tomorrow to change my bandages. If you need me to buy anything, I can bring it back for you.”

“Really? Could you bring me some meat? … Forget it, I don’t have any meat coupons.”

Zhang Yuefang’s eyes lit up, but then she remembered she didn’t have any meat coupons at all. She quickly shook her head.

“Bring me some sponge cake then. I still have a pastry coupon.”

Xiaofang stood up, took out her only pastry coupon and some money, and handed them to Cheng Qiao. Even though they ate three meals a day, without any oil or meat in their stomachs, they often woke up hungry in the middle of the night.

“Cheng Qiao, if the meat factory has big bones that don’t require coupons, could you bring one back for us? Even bone soup would be good.”

Zhao Xiaobao grinned, reached into Qian Longkun’s pocket, fished out a yuan, and handed it to Cheng Qiao. She smiled and nodded.

“But Cheng Qiao, there’s no ox cart going to the county tomorrow. How will you get there?” Xiaofang asked.

“You fool, that rascal. No—wasn’t it Li Huan who gave Cheng Qiao a bicycle as betrothal gift? Of course she’ll ride the bicycle there.”

Xiaoqin pointed at the bicycle and laughed.

Everyone’s eyes turned toward the bicycle parked at the girls’ dorm entrance. Their gazes were full of envy. Xu Laidi took a deep breath and swallowed back the sour words that almost slipped out.

Chai Jianmin glared viciously at the bicycle. What’s so great about it? She only got it by letting herself be held by the lowest kind of man. Shameless woman.

After dinner, Han Chunmei quickly bathed. She didn’t even wash her clothes, but instead took out Cheng Qiao’s piece of red fabric and began cutting it.

“Cheng Qiao, what kind of style do you want? A cross-collared one, or straight buttons down the front?”

“Sister Chunmei, let’s go with straight buttons, two big pockets here, and a small round collar. It doesn’t matter if it’s a bit large. I want to wear it over a thin cotton jacket.”

Han Chunmei immediately understood. She picked up a charcoal stick, marked the measurements on the cloth, and began cutting.

“Sister Chunmei, it’s getting late. Let’s go to bed. We still have to work tomorrow.”

Cheng Qiao felt embarrassed. Han Chunmei nodded, blew out the oil lamp, and lay down. Kerosene cost money and coupons too, so it had to be saved.

At dawn, Han Chunmei got up to wash clothes. Otherwise, she’d have nothing clean to wear tomorrow. But when her eyes landed on the bicycle, she froze.

“Cheng Qiao, Cheng Qiao! Get up! Your bicycle tires have no air in them!”

Cheng Qiao was still half-asleep, but when she heard the tires were flat, she quickly jumped up. Maybe she moved too fast, because a wave of dizziness hit her. Zhang Yuefang rushed to steady her.

When she finally recovered, Cheng Qiao put on her coat and went to check. Sure enough, both front and rear valve cores were gone—it was obvious someone had pulled them out.

“Which bastard is so shameless? Jealous of someone else having a bike, so you pull out the valve cores? Why not pluck out your own blind eyeballs instead…”

Jiang Guangrong was woken by Zhang Yuefang’s scolding. He sat up, listened carefully, and his face grew dark. Today Cheng Qiao wasn’t only going to the hospital for treatment—she was also supposed to buy food for them educated youths.

His eyes swept over the dorm. It definitely wasn’t Qian Longkun or Zhao Xiaobao. That left only Chai Jianmin, who was already at odds with Cheng Qiao.

“Chai Jianmin, it was you, wasn’t it?”

Chai Jianmin was stunned, not expecting Jiang Guangrong to phrase it as a certainty. He grinned. “Squad leader, catch a thief with the stolen goods. If you’ve got evidence, show it. If not, don’t spew nonsense.”

“Chai Jianmin, show me your hands.”

Before Jiang Guangrong could speak further, Qian Longkun interjected. Chai Jianmin stretched out his hands without hesitation. They were covered in thick calluses and crisscrossed cuts from corn leaves.

Seeing such hands, Qian Longkun was suddenly at a loss for words. He and Zhao Xiaobao had labor gloves, so although their hands had calluses and cuts too, they weren’t nearly as bad.

Jiang Guangrong didn’t say more. He put on his clothes, went out, and squatted by the bicycle for a closer look. If the valve cores had been pulled, they would’ve heard the hiss as the tires deflated.

So someone must’ve punctured the tires first, letting the air out slowly, then pulled the valve cores. Spinning the wheels, he found two neat slashes made by a sharp object.

“Ruthless. Pulling the valve cores, you can just replace them. But slashing the tires? You’ll need to patch or even replace them. That’s vicious.”

Zhao Xiaobao saw the cuts too and shook his head.

Cheng Qiao looked straight at Chai Jianmin. He acted nonchalant, picked up his half-bald toothbrush and a faded towel, and went to the well to wash.

“Cheng Qiao, are you up?”

Li Huan’s voice came from outside. Everyone inside felt nervous—if that rascal found out the bicycle was sabotaged, would he explode?

Chai Jianmin’s hand paused for just a moment, but inwardly he sneered. Go ahead, find proof. Without it, no one can pin this on me.

Qian Longkun opened the door and whispered a few words to Li Huan. His face instantly darkened. He glanced at Chai Jianmin brushing his teeth by the well, then went to check the bicycle.

Li Huan examined it carefully and confirmed the cuts were made with a razor blade. Generally only men had those, since they needed to shave.

“Jiang Guangrong, any of the men in your dorm shave?”

Zhao Xiaobao quickly raised his hand. His beard grew fast, so he had a razor and a box of blades.

He fetched them. Several blades had been used, but he couldn’t remember how many times he’d replaced them.

“Looks like someone planned this long ago. Zhao Xiaobao, give me your cabinet key. From now on, I’ll keep it for you.”

Qian Longkun shook his head helplessly. The blades had been stolen ages ago, but neither he nor Zhao Xiaobao cared enough to notice.

“Jiang Guangrong, don’t you shave?”

Li Huan looked straight into his eyes. Sometimes the most honest-looking man could be the worst, though the worst weren’t always truly bad.

“I’ve got tweezers. When my beard grows, I borrow a mirror from the girls and pluck them one by one. If I can’t manage, I borrow someone’s razor.”

Jiang Guangrong replied firmly, without fear. He would never do something so vile.

“And you, Chai Jianmin?”

“Same as the squad leader. I pluck them one by one.”

Chai Jianmin answered expressionlessly, as if to say, Even if you know it was me, what can you do? He even suggested they report it to the public security bureau.