RYEY – Chapter 35 Chai Jianmin’s Anger

She also thought of schoolbags and pencil cases. Since she wanted Li Le to go to school, she quickly noted those down as well. There were also undershirts and vests for men—yes, she’d get a couple for Li Huan too.

Thinking that the weather would turn cold after the autumn harvest, she picked out cotton undershirts and pants for a family of four (counting herself into the Li family). Each undershirt cost 5.46 yuan, each pair of cotton pants 4.58 yuan.

A whole set cost more than 10 yuan, no wonder in her previous life she had never seen the Lis wear cotton underwear. But this life would be different—everything they should have, they would have.

When Qiu Min came out and saw how generously Cheng Qiao was buying, she was at a loss whether to persuade her or not. Four sets of cotton underwear already came to over 40 yuan, undershirts and vests another 5 yuan plus.

And these required cloth coupons too. Without them, a set of cotton underwear would cost 15 yuan on the black market—precious goods for those with money but no access.

“Sister Qiu Min, and these books and pencil case too. There’s a little girl in my family, she’ll be enrolling in school after the autumn harvest.”

“Yes, you should buy those. Tuition isn’t expensive anyway. Better get some extra pencils, notebooks, and erasers while you’re at it—they’ll all come in handy for studying.”

Qiu Min briskly took a schoolbag off the wall, dusted it off, and from the counter grabbed a pencil case, pencils, notebooks, and erasers.

Li Huan watched Cheng Qiao buy one thing after another, his heart warmed to the core. Though the pile looked big, very little was actually for Cheng Qiao herself—most of it was for his Li family.

Qiu Min snuck a glance at Li Huan, worried for Cheng Qiao. This haul, not counting coupons, had already cost over 80 yuan. What man would tolerate such a spendthrift wife?

Yet not only did Li Huan stay silent, he even pointed at the counter’s cosmetics—cold cream, lipstick, and such—and said:

“Cheng Qiao, take two tins of that cold cream. When the weather turns cold your skin will crack, it’ll help. Get more clam oil too, good for hands and feet. And this lipstick—wear it at the wedding for festivity. That fabric too, take it home and make some… um… clothes. It’d look nice.”

Li Huan still remembered that night when he saw Cheng Qiao’s undergarments—the fabric soft and delicate, the pale color touching him deep in his heart. Now seeing cloth of the same color and texture, he couldn’t let it go.

Cheng Qiao blushed. She thought of the same scene and, without a word, stepped on Li Huan’s foot. Though he felt the pain, he only smiled happily, unfazed.

Li Huan’s behavior made Qiu Min unbearably envious. If only her future husband could dote on her like this, shopping together, caring so much—how blissful that would be.

“Cheng Qiao, your fiancé is so good to you. Looks like you’re getting married soon?”

“Mm, we plan to marry after the autumn harvest.”

“Really? Then when you set the date, you must tell me in advance—I’ll come to drink your wedding wine.”

“Of course, I’ll definitely let you know.”

Li Huan once again acted as porter, hanging all the big and small parcels on the handlebars and crossbar of his bicycle. Except for a space left for Cheng Qiao to sit, every possible spot was loaded.

They pedaled to the state-owned restaurant. The plump waitress was as expressionless as ever, taking money and coupons with a frosty tone, speaking as little as possible.

“No, next.”

“Big Sis, it’s me.”

“Cheng Qiao? What brings you today?”

Cheng Qiao smiled, handed her a bag of peach crisps, then pointed at the blackboard menu and whispered: “I’ll take everything, and two orders of sweet-and-sour ribs. Pack it up to go.”

The waitress smiled, nodded, quickly worked the abacus, collected money and coupons, issued a ticket, then personally carried it to the kitchen and handed it to the chef.

This time Cheng Qiao produced five lunch boxes. The supply store had whole boxes of them; taking a few was nothing. She didn’t notice, however, that Li Huan frowned slightly at the sight.

After eating, Li Huan checked the time and took Cheng Qiao to the cinema.

Coincidentally, they were showing an old film The Female Pilot. Cheng Qiao was so engrossed she nearly forgot to snack. By the time they returned to Xiangyang Village with their big haul, the educated youth spot was in chaos.

Chai Jianmin’s quilt had gone missing. After much searching, they finally found it dumped in a corner of the latrine.

The latrine was filthy—not just dirty, but reeking of years of stench. When Chai Jianmin dragged the quilt out and threw it into the yard, everyone pinched their noses.

“Where’s Cheng Qiao? Tell her to come out!”

Chai Jianmin’s eyes were bloodshot as he glared fiercely at the row of female educated youths.

“Cheng Qiao went to the county. Why are you looking for her?”

Han Chunmei summoned her courage to ask.

“I want to ask why she threw my quilt in the latrine.”

“How do you know it was her? Do you have proof?”

Zhang Yuefang muttered softly.

“Exactly. The men’s dorm is always locked—how could Cheng Qiao even get in?”

Xiao Qin whispered too, then quickly stepped back, as if afraid Chai Jianmin might hit her.

Chai Jianmin froze, then turned to Jiang Guangrong. “Squad leader, who was the last to leave our dorm?”

“Me. What, are you suspecting me?”

Qian Longkun’s voice was icy, his gaze at Chai Jianmin colder still.

“I didn’t say that. But something happened—we have to ask clearly.”

“What’s there to ask? Catch a thief with stolen goods. If you’ve got evidence, show it. If not, quit running your mouth. Nobody owes you anything.”

Qian Longkun snapped loudly, then turned to the female youths and barked at them to get back to cooking—they were starving, not here to watch a play.

The girls got the hint and scattered to their chores. Jiang Guangrong also left, exhausted—who had the energy to bother about a quilt?

Chai Jianmin clenched his teeth, forcing himself to stay calm. It was obvious to him that Cheng Qiao had done it. She didn’t have a key to the men’s dorm, so clearly Qian Longkun had helped her.

“I’m back!”

Cheng Qiao’s cheerful voice sounded at the gate of the educated youth spot. At once, everyone came out—they wanted to see what goodies she had brought back.

“Who’s cooking today? Here—two big pork bones. Took a lot of effort to get them. You can make soup and noodles with these.”

“Cheng Qiao, you’re amazing! I’m cooking today, give them to me.”

Xiao Qin quickly took the pork bones, while Xiao Ping fetched water, washed vegetables, and lit the fire.

“Xiao Fang, the sponge cake you asked me to bring—here.”

“You actually got it? Thank you! Here, have a piece.”

Overjoyed, Xiao Fang accepted the cake and immediately stuffed a piece into Cheng Qiao’s mouth.