RIRW – Chapter 21

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Li Hui and Zuo Dacheng put down their chopsticks and looked at her. Li Hui, surprised, asked, “Why are you suddenly going to the city? You didn’t even tell us. You’ve never really liked going far before.”

Zuo Dan’s tone was a bit subdued as she replied, “It’s just that the family has been busy lately, and so many things have happened today…”

Thinking of everything that had happened that day, Zuo Dacheng and Li Hui both felt complicated inside. In one day, they had distributed grain, meat, and even divided the family.

The family that had once eaten at the same table was now eating separately in different rooms. Only the old lady and the third son were sitting together in the main room to eat, and the old lady no longer allowed them to eat together. In a fit of anger, she said that if they were going to divide the family, it had to be done thoroughly.

Having been interrupted by Zuo Dan, the couple now thought about how the usually homebound Zuo Dan was suddenly planning to go to the city.

Seeing their concern, Zuo Dan explained, “Xiao Cong hasn’t been home for a long time. I want to go see him. Now that the grain has been divided, I’ll bring some over for him and also exchange the grain tickets at the cafeteria.”

The students had to eat in the cafeteria, and they needed to bring grain to exchange for grain tickets.

Li Hui, hearing Zuo Dan mention her son, also began to worry.

Her son was out there alone. Although he didn’t have to do farm work and was studying in the city, it was still not the same as being at home.

No matter what, at home, there was always food for him. But what would he eat outside?

Zuo Dacheng said, “I’ve been thinking of when to go see him. How about I go with Dandan tomorrow? It’s her first time going to the city, and I’m not at ease with her going alone.”

Zuo Dan quickly responded, “Dad, there’s nothing to worry about. I’ll take the bus directly to the school to find Xiao Cong. It’s more convenient. I’ve been working with the educated youths recently, and they’ve told me a lot about the outside world. I know a lot now. Since the family just divided, your responsibility is even greater, so don’t waste any more time.”

Hearing his daughter’s words, Zuo Dacheng felt the responsibility of being the head of the family for the first time. He felt proud and energized.

With a smile, he said, “Alright then, you take the bus directly to the county tomorrow. Once you’re in the city, go straight to Xiao Cong. If it’s too late and you miss the last bus, have Xiao Cong help you find a guesthouse to stay for the night. Don’t travel at night.”

“Got it, I’ll remember,” Zuo Dan answered obediently. She wasn’t going to make things hard for herself; she would do whatever was most comfortable.

After dinner, Li Hui went to the bed and pulled out a jar from underneath. Inside, she took out a stack of money—small change. Zuo Dan recognized it as the fifty yuan that her grandmother had given them when they divided the family. Zuo Dacheng had put it away for his wife in their room.

Li Hui pulled out a one-yuan bill, thought for a moment, then gritted her teeth and pulled out another one. “A poor family should make sure to eat well while outside. Don’t be too frugal.”

Zuo Dan took the money. She wouldn’t be polite now. She had no reason to be polite anyway. She had only fifty cents from selling cornmeal before, so having a bit more money on her was safer. She could always return what she didn’t use.

Zuo Dacheng went to the corner of the room to scoop some unhulled sorghum and corn kernels into a small bag. It weighed about ten pounds. He asked Zuo Dan to take it to Xiao Cong. With six liang (about 300 grams) a day, it would last him almost twenty days.

Xiao Cong had gone to the county in mid-August, and by that time, the family had little grain left, so he hadn’t been able to take much with him. She didn’t know if there was any left by now.

After preparing everything for tomorrow’s trip, Zuo Dan listened to Zuo Dacheng and went to her grandmother’s room to say goodbye. After all, she was going to see her eldest grandson, and she wasn’t sure if the old lady wanted her to take anything with her.

When Zuo Dan arrived, the door to her grandmother’s room was already closed. Inside, she could hear crying and her grandmother’s scolding.

“I’m not dead yet, what’s there to cry about? What, is it a hardship for you to sleep in the same room as this old woman? If you don’t want to sleep here, then get out of the old Zuo family!”

The crying stopped, leaving only the sound of sobbing.

Zuo Dan stood there for a while, waiting for the noise to subside before speaking up and telling her grandmother that she was going to the city to see Zuo Cong.

Perhaps the old lady was still upset, and hearing Zuo Dan’s words, she gruffly replied, “Let him study well, don’t worry about anything else. Anyway, the family is like this now, there’s nothing else to worry about.”

Not wanting to upset her grandmother, who was still angry, Zuo Dan simply nodded in response and went back to her room.

She closed the door, waited a while to make sure no one was coming for her, and then went into the orchard. She picked some apples and arranged them in a basket, about twenty pounds worth.

Zuo Dan realized that depending on the orchard to make a fortune seemed unrealistic for her… she didn’t feel like picking more. Picking enough for daily sustenance was fine, but having to pick hundreds or even thousands of pounds? She’d rather spend her days lying in the orchard, enjoying a leisurely life.

She began to understand just how hard her grandmother’s life had been. Back then, her grandmother had to take care of her while selling fruit, yet she still managed to leave two houses for her.

Living a good life was not going to be easy.

After a comfortable shower and washing her hair, she waited until her hair was completely dry. She drank a glass of milk before leaving the orchard and lying down to take a nap.

The next day, before dawn, Zuo Dan got up.

She had slept soundly all night, feeling refreshed.

Li Hui made her millet porridge, which was considered a fine grain. Normally, Li Hui wouldn’t have allowed herself to eat such a thing, but since it was Zuo Dan’s first time going out, Li Hui thought she should eat well so that everything would go smoothly.

As soon as Zuo Dan finished eating and put down her chopsticks, she heard Zuo Mugeng’s voice.

“Hurry up, don’t keep people waiting. Be careful out there,” Zuo Dacheng said while carrying the ten pounds of grain to send to Xiao Cong.

“I know, I know,” Zuo Dan quickly responded.

When she reached the yard, she saw Zuo Mugeng’s horse-drawn cart, with Shen Yiming sitting next to him.

Seeing Shen Yiming, Zuo Dacheng was quite happy. He had a good impression of Shen Yiming and greeted him warmly. He also reminded Zuo Dan to ask Shen Yiming about the city while on the road.

Zuo Dan already knew that Shen Yiming was very good at winning people over and pretending to be sincere. She didn’t expect that even Zuo Dacheng had fallen for it. She responded perfunctorily and climbed into the cart.

Zuo Mugeng lightly cracked his whip, and the horse began to pull the cart.

“Comrade Zuo Dan, we meet again,” Shen Yiming greeted her warmly.

“Yes,” Zuo Dan replied briefly and didn’t say anything else. She didn’t particularly want to engage with Shen Yiming. To be honest, smart people often don’t like other smart people.

Shen Yiming didn’t turn his head but muttered softly, “I remember last time…”

Zuo Dan immediately put on a warm smile, “Oh, Comrade Shen Yiming, what brings you to the commune today? What a coincidence! If it weren’t for you, I’d have had to walk to the town myself. We’re lucky to have you here, and in the future, if we get anything good, we won’t leave you out.”

Shen Yiming finally smiled and said, “Comrade Dandan, you’re too polite. I’m just helping the team with some work at the commune.”

Zuo Mugeng, listening to the young people chat, was happy as well and chimed in, “Yiming is truly remarkable. He even knows how to do accounting. He helped us with the grain accounts in our team, and the people at the commune saw how well he did and asked him to help out. In the past, when the commune took the grain from the production team, it would take several days just to do the accounts. This year, they came to our village for help.”

Hearing this, Zuo Dan couldn’t help but admire Shen Yiming. He had only been in the village for a short time, and not only had he won the favor of everyone, but he had also managed to get involved with the production team. Meanwhile, here she was, holding onto her ‘local authority’ status, yet her situation was worse than his. It made her feel a little sour.

While she was still fighting for a piece of meat, others had already begun to aim for greater things.

“By the way, Dandan, would your family be willing to exchange some fine grains for coarse grains? Yiming heard from Third Aunt that the village is reluctant to eat the fine grains, and there’s not enough coarse grain. Yiming suggested we exchange fine grains for coarse grains with the commune.”

Upon hearing this, Zuo Dan’s eyebrows jumped in surprise.

Zuo Dan looked at Shen Yiming, who seemed to have eyes growing on the back of his head, as he turned around and smiled at her. Zuo Dan opened her mouth and smiled, recalling the conversation she had with Uncle San that day. Since it was in the small grove, there was no way for anyone to hide behind the trees and eavesdrop, so their conversation wouldn’t have been overheard. This meant that Shen Yiming was naturally opposed to her. Whenever she casually mentioned something, he would jump in and try to snatch opportunities and block her path.

She silently criticized him in her heart, but on the surface, she remained calm. “Uncle, how do we exchange it?”

“Normally, when we exchange privately, it’s one jin of fine grain for one and a half jin of coarse grain. This time, Comrade Yiming said he might be able to exchange more,” Uncle Zuo explained.

Zuo Dan quietly noted this in her heart, thinking that once she got to the city, she would gather information on the market prices and then return to pressure Li Chenliang to raise the price. As long as the price wasn’t lower than the public commune’s, she could still receive grain. But it seemed she couldn’t rely solely on the village, and would need to diversify her sources.

Moreover, this situation might not be entirely bad. After all, competition leads to a market. If Uncle Shuisheng organized everyone to exchange grain with the commune, she could raise the price in front of Li Chenliang. After all, with supply not meeting demand, if the price didn’t go up, others would buy it instead.

Zuo Dan thought she wasn’t unreasonable. If Shen Yiming was thinking of making money like her, she would definitely feel that he was taking away her business. However, this time, Shen Yiming was trying to do something good for the village, and that was worth praising. After all, in the end, it was Li Chenliang who would get the short end of the stick.

Shen Yiming added, “By the way, Comrade Dandan, if you’re heading to the city, could you help me inquire about the current market situation? Now that the autumn grain is harvested, I’m worried the prices might change, and it would be helpful to have a reference.”

Uncle Zuo quickly added, “Yes, Dandan, since you’re going into the city, it’s convenient for you to ask.”

Zuo Dan felt a bit uncomfortable. She was supposed to check the market situation, but now it seemed like she was serving Shen Yiming.

“Alright, I’ll ask around, but you know, I’ve never been to the city before, so I don’t know much. If I make any mistakes, don’t blame me,” she said, wanting to make Shen Yiming uneasy, even while helping.

Shen Yiming pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket. “I heard you’re going to the city, so I made a list for you. Just ask the supply and marketing cooperative staff about it. I heard from the old team leader that you can read.”

Zuo Dan took the paper with a blank expression. She crumpled it up and stuffed it into her pocket, narrowing her eyes and smiling. “Alright, now I know what to do.”

When they finally arrived at the town’s bus station, Zuo Dan got off the cart, and Shen Yiming also got off to help her carry the grain onto the bus. As he left, he waved to her. “Comrade Dandan, thank you for your hard work.”

Zuo Dan waved back with a smile. He was still putting on an act, but who didn’t know who? If she and Shen Yiming were two dumplings, she would be filled with brown sugar, and Shen Yiming would definitely be filled with black sesame paste.

Zuo Dan took out her introduction letter and paid the 20-cent bus fare before finding a seat. The vehicle was obviously a modified bus, and the modification wasn’t done well. The yellowish exterior was patchy, and the interior facilities were old and worn. It was clear the bus had been around for some time. Zuo Dan felt uneasy and suspected that the bus might not be safe.

The driver, however, seemed very proud of his vehicle, continuously tapping the steering wheel and humming a tune. The conductor treated the passengers like it was a luxury coach, giving each one a sour face.

Fortunately, although the old driver was cocky, his skills were still up to par. The bumpy ride along the uneven dirt roads was dusty, but they finally made it to the county town safely.

As soon as Zuo Dan got off the bus, she threw up. After sitting on a bus for over twenty years, she never realized she could get motion sickness.

She washed her face with a pipe near the restroom and tidied her hair. After freshening up, she finally felt alive again.

With the grain in hand, she asked an old man guarding the station for directions and headed straight to the county high school.

At that time, the county town hadn’t developed much and was small. After walking for about twenty minutes, Zuo Dan finally saw the sign for the county high school.

The old man at the gate heard Zuo Dan was there to find her brother and asked her to wait while he went inside to find someone.

Zuo Dan looked at the high school. The outer walls were made of red bricks, and inside were single-story teaching buildings. In the middle was a large playground, also made of dirt. Zuo Dan thought that if it rained, the field would turn into a swamp. There weren’t many students at that time, and with the government’s poverty, this was the only high school in the entire county. Despite this, even though the school was poorly built, it was later surpassed by even the newly built middle schools in terms of size. Yet, countless university students would eventually graduate from here.

Zuo Dan thought that if she had the ability, she would bring the future kids who didn’t like studying to take a look at this school. They should compare their study environment to this one and see if they still had any reason not to work hard.

“Big sis—”

Zuo Dan was lost in thought when a young man hurriedly ran out from the school. The old man who had gone to find someone was left far behind.

The young man, though a little tanned and looking malnourished, was still quite handsome. According to the novels Zuo Dan had read, he had a sharp face and a high, strong nose. If he were taller and had healthier skin, he would have been a striking young man. At least among all the people she had seen, only Shen Yiming could compare to him.

These siblings were really well matched. She looked like Li Hui, and this young man seemed to have the best traits of both Li Hui and Zuo Dacheng. Even Zuo Dacheng’s heavy, honest demeanor was reflected in him.

“Big sis, why are you here?” Zuo Cong ran to Zuo Dan, his eyes sparkling with excitement. It was the first time his big sis had come to visit him at school.

“Well, I’ve brought you some grain.” Zuo Dan still felt a little awkward. It was their first meeting, and in the original owner’s memories, she harbored some resentment towards this brother. Their relationship wasn’t very close, though this distance was mostly one-sided. The original owner’s resentment was caused by the issue of education.

In the entire Zuo family, besides Xu Fengxia not allowing Zuo Qing to go to school, the original owner, Zuo Cong, and Zuo Huan were all allowed to study. But when it came time for high school, problems arose.

At that time, high school was no longer based on grades, but required recommendations from the commune. Whether it was luck or not, the other families in Zuo Village weren’t very eager to send their children to the county town for high school. Since they couldn’t attend university, what was the point of going to high school? It was already a big deal to attend elementary school and learn a few characters. With that effort, it was better to stay home and work, earning work points. They weren’t the children of landlords who could be pampered.

Li Hui, being from a scholarly family, naturally understood the benefits of education. So, she proposed that the children continue their high school education. Zuo Huan, who didn’t like studying, didn’t even finish elementary school, so he couldn’t go. That left only Zuo Dan and Zuo Cong. Li Hui suggested Zuo Cong, while Zuo Dacheng suggested Zuo Dan. This caused a division between the couple.

Before they could decide, Grandmother Zuo had already gone to speak with the old team leader, Zuo Shuisheng. Grandmother Zuo didn’t like Li Hui, but she knew Li Hui was educated and more knowledgeable than ordinary farmers. When Li Hui said that Zuo Cong could still find a job in the commune even if he couldn’t attend a workers’ or peasants’ university, Grandmother Zuo thought education was worth pursuing. After all, Zuo Cong was the only grandson, and if he made it, the Zuo family would step out of the agricultural class. Even though everyone talked about poor peasants, who didn’t envy workers in the city or office staff in the commune?

Moreover, with her three sons and the whole family working, it wouldn’t be a problem to scrape together enough for one child to go to school.

So, Grandma Su went to the old captain, Zuo Shuisheng, to cry. Her tears caused quite a stir in the old Zuo family, making the ancestors of Zuojiatun uneasy. Only then did the old captain grit his teeth and agree to go to the commune to ask for a favor, ensuring that Zuo Cong could attend school.

Once the name was registered, the matter was settled. The original host knew that Grandma Zuo didn’t like her, so she didn’t hold any resentment. Li Hui was her mother, and while she was dissatisfied, she could only endure it. She harbored resentment toward her younger brother, feeling that since they were both siblings, why could he go to school but she couldn’t? So, after Zuo Cong entered high school, the original host became indifferent toward him. Although they still spoke, there was clearly a distance between them. Outsiders couldn’t tell, but Zuo Cong could feel it.

Watching Zuo Dan stay silent, Zuo Cong’s face grew a little dim, but he still reached out to pick up the bag next to her and smiled, “Sister, let’s go. I’ll take you to my dorm for a bit. You haven’t eaten yet, right? The canteen will open for lunch soon. Let’s have a good meal today.”

Zuo Dan nodded and followed him. She thought she would sit for a while and then leave quickly. After all, the original host didn’t have a close relationship with him, and this was their first time meeting. There was no need to pretend to have a strong emotional connection. Anyway, she was just delivering something and had business to take care of, which was more important.

In the dormitory, there were two large bunk beds. One was placed on each side, with eight people sleeping on each bed, and two wooden tables in the middle.

After leading Zuo Dan into the dorm, Zuo Cong quickly found a chair for her to sit on.

“Sister, sit down.” He hurriedly poured her some water. Zuo Dan took the cup, noticed it was clean, and took a sip. She then saw Zuo Cong rush to the innermost bed, rummaging around under it until he pulled out a cloth bag.

“Sister, try this.” Zuo Cong ran over eagerly, his face full of anticipation. “This is something our teacher gave me earlier. I’ve been wondering when to bring it back.”

Zuo Dan glanced at it and found two red-black pastries wrapped carefully in a square handkerchief.

“I’ll take it back to eat,” Zuo Dan said, not particularly fond of these types of pastries.

“No, no,” Zuo Cong quickly said, “If you take it back, Auntie will definitely give it to Sister Huanhuan, and you won’t get to eat it. Sister, eat it here, but don’t tell anyone when we go back.”

Zuo Dan took it, took a small bite, and tasted the flavor of date paste. She saw Zuo Cong smacking his lips.

“Did you eat some?” Zuo Dan asked.

“I ate it, I’ve had enough of it,” Zuo Cong said with a smile. “I’m already tired of it.”

“…” That was a terrible lie. Which teacher would be so generous as to give you enough date cakes that you’d get tired of them? Even if she didn’t understand the economy, she knew that cakes like this had to be bought with special tickets, and it was not guaranteed that one could even buy them. Those two pieces of cake must have been a huge favor. Zuo Dan felt a pang of envy for the original host. When she was little, she really wanted a brother or sister to help her bully people when there was trouble, or to be bullied when there was no trouble. Unfortunately, she was the only child in her family.

“Go ahead and eat it. I’ll feel awkward eating it alone.” She then took a piece for herself and handed the rest to Zuo Cong. “If you don’t eat it, I won’t eat it either.”

Zuo Cong was stunned for a moment, then stiffly took the cake, his eyes fixed on Zuo Dan.

“Eat it,” Zuo Dan urged.

Only then did Zuo Cong take a bite, then look up at Zuo Dan and take another bite. As he ate, his eyes began to redden.

Zuo Dan sighed. She really couldn’t bring herself to bully him when he looked like this.

After finishing the pastries, the siblings took their grain to the canteen to exchange it for food stamps. Zuo Cong even muttered something to the head chef, and soon afterward, with a big smile, he led Zuo Dan away from the canteen.

“Sister, the meal won’t start for a while, let’s go back to the dorm and sit for a bit. After lunch, I’ll take you around the county town,” Zuo Cong said cheerfully.

“Aren’t you going to class?” Zuo Dan didn’t want Zuo Cong to come along. Although she didn’t reject this brother now, what she was doing was “serious business,” and she couldn’t let this kid know.

Zuo Cong, full of joy, said, “You’re here so rarely, I want to take a break and show you around.”

Take a break? Zuo Dan narrowed her eyes and then said seriously, “Zuo Cong, you actually took a leave just to go shopping? Why did your family send you here to study? Do you have any respect for the ancestors of the old Zuo family?”

Zuo Dan’s sudden change in expression startled Zuo Cong, and he stared at her in shock, not daring to say a word.

He couldn’t understand why the sister who had just reconciled with him now seemed so different.

Seeing him like this, Zuo Dan patted his shoulder earnestly. “Little Cong, I’m doing this for your own good. You’re the only one in our family who can study, and our family is counting on you. How can you take a leave just because of me? That’s not acceptable. Listen to me, study well, and when you get rich, don’t forget us. I’ll be content with that.”

Zuo Cong’s eyes reddened again, and he took a deep breath. “Sister, I understand my mistake. Don’t worry, I’ll study hard. When I get a job, I’ll give all my wages to you.”

Zuo Dan secretly thought, “Then your wife will come after me.” But her face showed only an expression of appreciation.

Zuo Dan thought Zuo Cong was just saying that, but when they returned to the dorm, Zuo Cong immediately pulled out a small tin from the hem of his mended clothes.

Inside was some loose change—one-cent, two-cent, and five-cent coins, but altogether, it didn’t even add up to one yuan.

“Where did you get this money?” Zuo Dan asked curiously. The Zuo family was poor. They could provide food, but wouldn’t have spare money for Zuo Cong.

Zuo Cong whispered, “Some of my classmates from the city don’t like doing their homework, so I helped them with it when I had time. Some of the books that my classmates couldn’t afford, I helped them copy.”

So this is what it meant to work and study. Zuo Dan was even more satisfied with this brother. “You can keep the money for yourself, sister doesn’t need it.”

“I can still earn more. Take it, you can buy whatever you want later,” Zuo Cong insisted, putting the money in her pocket.

Zuo Dan didn’t want to accept the money. It was Zuo Cong’s hard-earned money. These small amounts must have been saved over a long time, and if she, as his older sister, accepted it without a clear conscience, she felt her grandmother would scold her in her dreams. “Dandan, we can’t be so heartless.”

Just as she was about to refuse the money, the bell for the next class rang.

Hearing the bell, Zuo Cong immediately grabbed Zuo Dan and headed out. “Sister, hurry, we’ll miss the meal if we wait too long.”

They moved quickly, and when they arrived at the canteen, there weren’t many people yet. Zuo Cong eagerly grabbed a bowl and headed to the second-year stall to get their meal.

Zuo Dan followed, remembering what she’d seen on TV about high school meals. It was said that they had three types of meals, and it seemed the canteen had something similar. However, it wasn’t the infamous black steamed buns, but a type of dark flatbread.

Fortunately, Zuo Cong had managed to get the best meal, a mix of cornmeal and wheat flour. Although it wasn’t a white steamed bun, it was still a fine staple food for the time. The dish was a stew of cabbage and sweet potato noodles, with a couple of thin slices of meat.

The meal was decent.

Zuo Dan took a steamed bun and bit into it. It tasted much better than the food at the old Zuo family. After living there for so long, she had never had a meal like this. Even on the day they received grain, Li Hui hadn’t been willing to make such a meal. Instead, they had boiled pumpkin with millet and made cornmeal pancakes.

“By the way, how do you make that black flatbread? Is it really as bad as it looks?” Zuo Dan asked curiously.

Zuo Cong’s expression changed slightly. “I haven’t eaten it before, but I heard from my classmates that it’s made from potato skins, frozen and then ground into powder. It probably also has some cornmeal mixed in, and it’s a bit sweet…”

Potato skins can be ground into powder to eat? Zuo Dan was slightly surprised but then remembered that this was the era when even tofu dregs could be considered a delicacy. Eating potato skins wasn’t so strange after all.

She looked at Zuo Cong. Although he said he hadn’t eaten it before, Zuo Dan felt that his comment about it being a bit sweet and the way he spoke as though he was savoring the taste didn’t seem like someone who had never tried it.

The cafeteria started filling up, and Zuo Dan noticed that everyone in the cafeteria was eating the same food as them. Most other people had already returned to their dorms. So, despite the small size of the cafeteria, it wasn’t crowded at all.

“Wow, the sun’s come out in the west! Zuo Cong’s actually here in the cafeteria eating. And he’s eating a big steamed bun.”

The brother and sister were eating their meal when a voice, laced with laughter, came.

Zuo Dan saw Zuo Cong’s hand, holding the chopsticks, shake slightly. She frowned and looked up at the person who spoke.

He was quite ordinary-looking, dressed in dark blue clothes with his sleeves rolled up, revealing a watch on his wrist.

Zuo Cong didn’t even look at him, acting as though he hadn’t heard.

“Visiting relatives, huh? That’s why you’re eating the big steamed bun. How does it taste? Better than your black buns?”

The man laughed and walked over.

Zuo Dan shoved the last bite of the steamed bun into her mouth, then drank some soup, feeling much better. She looked up at him. “Excuse me, who are you? Don’t you know it’s rude to disturb someone while they’re eating? Didn’t your teacher teach you the rule to not talk while eating or resting?”

“Who are you, and how are you speaking?”

Zuo Dan pointed at Zuo Cong and said, word by word, “I, am, his, sister!”

The man looked at Zuo Dan’s arrogant attitude and walked over.

Zuo Cong immediately stood up and blocked Zuo Dan’s way. “Xu Liang, my sister is here to see me. If you have something to say, we can talk later.”

“Let me speak,” Zuo Dan said, pulling him away. Then, with a smile, she said, “So you’re Xu Liang, right? I see you’re dressed quite well, with even a watch on. You look like one of those young masters from the old society. You really have a bourgeois vibe.”

Hearing Zuo Dan’s words, Xu Liang’s face changed slightly as he lowered his sleeves. “Bourgeois vibe? Not just me, others dress like this too.”

Zuo Dan replied, “I haven’t seen much of the world, but I’ve never seen anyone dressed like you. In our village, there’s a youth worker whose father was in the provincial Cultural Revolution group. I heard her say that they specifically went after people who dressed luxuriously and had bad conduct. You see, how poor we are in the countryside, still eating black buns, and here you are, wearing fancy clothes and a watch. You look down on us just because we eat black buns. What kind of mindset is this? This is the bourgeois mindset!” Zuo Dan’s voice suddenly rose, her face serious. “Only the high-born families from the old society would look down on us hardworking peasants. Xu Liang, don’t you think so?!”

Xu Liang was startled by her tone and subconsciously took a step back, his forehead starting to feel hot. He hadn’t expected that dressing well and eating well would make him be compared to the aristocrats of the old society.

The other students, who had big white steamed buns and were dressed neatly, dared not look at the scene and lowered their heads to eat. On the other hand, those eating black buns all stared at Xu Liang, their normally numb faces now showing some different gleam.

Zuo Dan sighed, her expression softening as she gave a slight smile. “Xu Liang, don’t be nervous. You’re still young. It’s okay to have a little deviation in your conduct, as long as you improve. You and my brother Zuo Cong are classmates, right? You should learn from each other and progress together. Now, go ahead and eat, or your food will get cold.”

“Zuo Cong, let’s go back too.”

Zuo Dan turned around and called out to Zuo Cong.

“Oh,” Zuo Cong stood up, still a little dazed, and started picking up the bowls and chopsticks from the table.

Once the brother and sister left the cafeteria, the discussion started. “Who is that? She’s amazing. Xu Liang couldn’t even say a word when she scolded him.”

“Didn’t you hear? She’s Zuo Cong’s sister. Xu Liang dared not say anything after she mentioned knowing people from the provincial Cultural Revolution group. He’s probably afraid she’ll report his behavior.”

“Exactly, even the teacher doesn’t wear a watch. Why is he showing off?”

Xu Liang wiped the sweat from his forehead and hurriedly grabbed a steamed bun before leaving the cafeteria. He felt like he’d had the worst day ever.

Zuo Cong wanted to talk to Zuo Dan after what had just happened. He felt like he didn’t know his sister as well as he thought. Unfortunately, Zuo Dan didn’t give him a chance. After washing the bowls and chopsticks, she didn’t say a word to him, telling him to rest in the dorm and leaving the school on her own.

Looking at her back, Zuo Cong felt a deep sense of loss. He had originally planned to treat his sister to a good meal and send her home happy, but in the end, he had made her upset.

Zuo Dan was indeed a little frustrated. After leaving the school gates, her brows furrowed tightly. Despite her earlier righteous speech, acting like eating black buns was an honor, she wasn’t feeling quite so great inside. Listening to Xu Liang, Zuo Cong had never eaten a big steamed bun before, and this was his first time today. Before, he had even whispered with the cafeteria worker just to get this meal.

It was just a big steamed bun, wasn’t it? Who couldn’t afford it? She pinched the small cash stash Zuo Cong had given her. Zuo Dan felt that she needed to make it clear—her brother, Zuo Cong, could afford to eat a big steamed bun.