RIRW – Chapter 40

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After rushing back and forth, the baskets and smoked meat were finally ready. In order to weave the baskets, the whole family worked overtime day and night, and Li Hui even took sick leave to stay at home and specifically make the baskets. Now that everything was prepared, they all let out a big sigh of relief. Although it was hard work, the Zuo family members felt energized, each of them full of spirit.

Zuo Dan also took the opportunity, when Li Chenliang returned from the coal yard in the town, to bring over a basket of smoked meat and fruit for him to see.

Li Chenliang looked at the bright red apples and the smoked meat tied with red string, swallowing his saliva. However, Zuo Dan didn’t let him eat any. Although it was just a sample, without money, she couldn’t let him have it.

“Alright, as long as it’s like this. Next year, I’ll go to the town and call my cousin to pick it up on the highway outside the provincial capital,” Li Chenliang said without hesitation.

These fruits and smoked meats wouldn’t be easy to buy in the provincial capital. However, the remaining money would have to be given by his cousin. There was no way around it; his funds were insufficient, so he had to do the business together with his cousin. And he had already decided that these fruit baskets, priced at five yuan, were too cheap and should be sold for at least six yuan.

With this matter settled, Li Chenliang stared at the meat and fruit in Zuo Dan’s basket.

Zuo Dan covered it with a cloth. “Let your family send it to you. Don’t let something as trivial as food ruin the big plan.”

Li Chenliang, feeling scolded, scratched his head, thinking to himself, “Why is she so fierce? When she lectures me, she really sounds like a housekeeper.”

The next day, Zuo Chengcai went out to contact familiar drivers, and by late at night, they planned to send the goods to the highway outside the village. From there, they would directly haul the apples to the county town for packing and then send them to the provincial capital.

“Mom and the second branch, what have they been busy with recently?”

At lunch, Xu Fengxia couldn’t help but nag again with Zuo Hongjun.

Zuo Hongjun sternly replied, “Enough, what are you trying to stir up now? Last time you went to the third branch’s yard, Mom came to scold you. What do you want now?”

Zuo Hongjun had not been doing well lately either. Over the years, he always felt wronged. After being persuaded by his wife to divide the family, his life had not been as good as it was before. Now, his mom looked at him with a cold attitude.

“Wasn’t I just doing it for the sake of this family? Mom has been blinded by greed, it’s like she’s been bewitched, favoring the second branch. After all these years, how did she change her ways? There’s so much meat in the house, but she won’t give you a single bite. What should we do?”

Zuo Hongjun felt wronged in his heart too. He believed he hadn’t done anything wrong to the Zuo family over the years. Instead, it was the second branch that caused him to lose his position as the leader of the brigade when they married off their daughter-in-law.

But now, both his mother and the third branch were close with the second branch, and they were no longer close to him.

“That’s all Mom’s stuff, what use do we have?” Zuo Hongjun took a deep drag from his cigarette.

“I’ll go to the town to find Chunhong tomorrow, she’s our mom’s real daughter,” Xu Fengxia said.

When Zuo Hongjun heard this, his expression changed. “What are you going for? Every time she comes back, she’s always complaining about this and that.”

Xu Fengxia snorted. “She’s just dissatisfied with the second daughter-in-law, she’s never complained about us. Now that we’ve divided the family, what’s wrong with me going to find her? I don’t believe the old lady can continue favoring the second daughter-in-law over her own daughter.”

Zuo Huan, who had been listening nearby, quickly said, “Mom, take me with you, I haven’t been to the town in a long time.”

“Why the hurry? Tomorrow I’ll go see your aunt. Once she helps you find someone in the town, you can live there from then on.”

Zuo Qing, who had been eating, raised her head and looked eagerly at Xu Fengxia.

Seeing this, Xu Fengxia’s face darkened. “What are you staring at? Eat your food. With your looks, you want to go to the town? Stay here and let your dad and I support you in your old age. At least you’ll have a meal to eat.”

Zuo Qing immediately lowered her head.

Zuo Huan, however, was not happy about staying in the town. “Mom, I want to go to the city. There are so many people in the city, it’s so much better.”

“Go, go, go, stop thinking about those things. Isn’t it that you’re interested in that educated youth, Shen Yiming? I won’t agree to it. These educated youths can’t go back to the city, their lives will be tough. The educated youths in the neighboring Hongxing commune can’t even get food for the whole year and owe money to the collective. You want to find an educated youth and expect us to pay the debt for you?”

“But maybe he’ll go back to the city.”

“Even if he does, he won’t take you with him. These educated youths are heartless. Just like in the Huanghe commune, an educated youth tricked the commune secretary’s daughter, promising to marry her, but when he went back to the city, he never came back. Now the girl’s pregnant and waiting. And that was the commune secretary’s daughter! Your dad’s not even a commune secretary!” The last sentence was said with a hint of resentment.

Zuo Hongjun’s face darkened, and he slammed the table. “Stop talking! Eat your food! Huanhuan is not allowed to look for those educated youths. Don’t embarrass our family. Your second uncle can embarrass himself, but if you do it too, I’ll break your legs!”

After finishing the meal, Xu Fengxia thought about climbing over the wall of Zuo Chengcai’s yard. But worried that Old Lady Zuo might be watching, she gritted her teeth and went to work instead.

She thought to herself, once her sister-in-law returns, she’ll see how the old lady still favors one side.

Old Lady Zuo, however, wasn’t in the mood to care about others at the moment. She strung all the small baskets together and wrapped the meat in cowhide paper, packing it in bags. She thought that once Zuo Chengcai returned after delivering the goods, she’d get her share of the money, which made her feel warm inside.

Finally, after a long wait, Zuo Chengcai returned that evening, and the whole family gathered together to discuss the upcoming work. Zuo Chengcai proposed that once it was late and quiet, they would move the goods to the main road outside the village. Vehicles would come to haul the goods. After the goods were loaded, Zuo Chengcai and Zuo Dan would go to deliver them, while Zuo Dacheng and Li Hui would accompany Old Lady Zuo back home.

Zuo Dacheng said, “Why don’t I go with you instead? Dandan’s just a girl, she can’t handle things.”

Zuo Chengcai thought to himself that it was actually Dandan who was handling the big things. “No, that’s not possible. Dandan’s good at math. She’ll help me with the accounting. Otherwise, what if we lose money? Plus, there’s no man at home, and I’m not at ease. I can’t count on our older brother.”

Zuo Dan also spoke up, “Dad, let me go. Third Uncle is there, nothing will happen.”

Old Lady Zuo glanced around and made a decision. “Let Dandan go, she’s a grown girl, it’s about time she sees the world.” She had to go, because San’er said that Dandan was his benefactor. If she didn’t go, what if something went wrong? With so much merchandise, if anything happened, even selling the old Zuo family’s house wouldn’t be enough to cover the loss.

Seeing that the three had agreed, Li Hui and Zuo Dacheng couldn’t object.

That evening, the family had a simple meal. Li Hui steamed some cornmeal buns and told Zuo Chengcai and Zuo Dan to take them for the journey, as they might not return until the middle of the night.

The whole family stayed up, waiting until midnight before they got up and left. At this hour, the villagers were all fast asleep. The whole family, including Old Lady Zuo, went to the village’s main road to transport the goods. After waiting for about twenty minutes, a large truck with a canopy arrived.

Zuo Dacheng helped load the goods. After the truck left, he returned with Old Lady Zuo and Li Hui.

Once on the truck, Zuo Dan learned that the driver worked for the county’s transportation company, usually running routes to the provincial city. He was helping with private deliveries this time, as no one wanted to live off their meager wages.

Since he was doing private work, he didn’t ask Zuo Chengcai any questions. Both of them were doing something they shouldn’t be, so neither of them was interested in asking questions. Zuo Dan felt that Zuo Chengcai was being quite thoughtful by hiring such people; only with someone like this would the job be safer. After all, it was a matter of mutual interest.

The truck drove fast, and by the time they reached the outskirts of the provincial city, it was already past one in the morning. According to Zuo Dan’s instructions, the truck stopped behind a patch of forest.

In the dark, Zuo Chengcai was a little worried about letting his niece go alone.

“Uncle, you don’t need to come. They won’t meet with anyone else,” Zuo Dan said.

Zuo Chengcai sighed, “Alright, I’ll wait here. If you need anything, just call.”

“Okay,” Zuo Dan said, jumping out of the truck and running into the woods with her flashlight.

After a while, Zuo Dan came back, holding the flashlight. “Uncle, hurry up, they’ve already left. Come over and help move the stuff.”

Zuo Chengcai and the truck driver immediately got out of the truck. When they saw the several bags of apples on the ground, Zuo Chengcai said, “These people are really clever, meeting in such a place for the exchange.” Then he quickly rolled up his sleeves and started moving the goods.

Once everything was loaded, the truck sped toward the provincial city.

Before reaching the city limits, someone on the road met them, exchanged the secret code, and quickly unloaded the goods. The meat and fruits were weighed, and the payment was made. The whole process was completed in under an hour, and the truck whizzed off.

The truck driver was on his way to deliver goods to the provincial city, but Zuo Dan and Zuo Chengcai had to follow along. They would return with another driver who was coming back from the city.

Zuo Dan was quite astute. She left a gift basket for the driver, and he smiled widely. He had heard that each fruit basket was worth four yuan at cost, and if sold on the market, it would surely be worth more. Plus, Zuo Chengcai gave him five yuan for travel expenses, so this trip was definitely profitable for him.

After receiving the goods and payment, the driver quickly arranged for Zuo Dan and Zuo Chengcai to take a ride back with another driver. He simply told them they were family and that the driver was helping take them home.

Finally, after delivering the goods and receiving the money, Zuo Dan and Zuo Chengcai both sighed with relief. They sat in the truck, silently calculating how much money they had made from this trip.

After deducting the 30 yuan wages for the old Zuo family’s work, spending 60 yuan on mountain goods, adding the 5 yuan for transportation, and the 60 yuan for the apples Zuo Dan mentioned, they still made a net profit of more than 240 yuan.

Zuo Chengcai then calculated his share and found he would get nearly 100 yuan.

It was worth it, absolutely worth it.

When they returned to Zuo Jiatuan, it was already past four in the morning. The two of them split their share of the money and a few vouchers outside the village before sneaking back home. When they got back, Li Hui and Zuo Chengcai had not slept yet, and even Old Lady Zuo had woken up after hearing the noise.

So, both families gathered at Zuo Chengcai’s house to divide the money. Zuo Dan quickly calculated, and Old Lady Zuo’s share, including the work she did and the commission from Li Hui, amounted to 11.5 yuan. Zuo Dacheng and Li Hui would get 18.5 yuan.

Zuo Chengcai waved his hand generously, saying that everyone had done well, so he would add a reward of 50 cents to make it a round number. Old Lady Zuo took the 12 yuan she had earned, clutching it tightly in her hand. Her heart was pounding with excitement. This was as much as half a month’s salary in the city! She had never imagined she could earn more than city folk. Without saying a word, she went straight to her room to hide the money.

Zuo Dacheng and Li Hui were also quite satisfied. The work had been tiring, but the money was solid.

Back home, Zuo Dan fell into a deep sleep.

She slept all the way through until noon the next day.

Meanwhile, in the provincial city, the atmosphere was bustling. The shopping mall was full of people coming and going, with queues everywhere. It was the only day of the year when the mall had the best selection, so people had no choice but to wait in line. Everyone came to buy gifts or things they couldn’t normally get. It was the one day when anything could be found.

Especially today, as the mall had just received a shipment of new goods, supposedly imported from other places and normally unavailable.

Bright red apples and fragrant smoked meats were displayed in a beautiful basket, tied with a red silk bow, giving it an upscale look. Although the items were expensive, they were sold in limited quantities. It was rumored that only 80 baskets were available, and once sold out, there would be no more.

Only 80 baskets!

Shoppers became frantic, their eyes red with desire. Thousands of people must have been in the mall today. Even if only one in every hundred people bought a fruit basket, there wouldn’t be enough to go around.

In just a short time, all the baskets were sold out. Some of the baskets were even secretly reserved by the salespeople for their relatives.

“Yiming, look, these gift baskets have sold like crazy today in the provincial city. Everyone is looking for these baskets. I finally managed to grab one to give to Teacher Zhao.”

In the courtyard of Shen Yiming’s house, a young man wearing glasses and a blue work uniform was showing off the basket.

His grandmother, looking at the basket with a stern face, said, “You could have just come to visit me, why bring something so expensive?”

“What’s wrong with it being expensive? As long as Teacher likes it, it’s fine.”

“Xiao Gang, you take it back and give it to someone else. We don’t care about this sort of thing,” his grandmother waved her hand dismissively.

Song Gang quickly pulled out two large apples from inside, saying, “I’ll go wash these two apples and try them.” He dashed off to the kitchen. After a while, he returned with the apples cut into slices.

“Here, everyone, try it. The people who bought this basket said that the meat isn’t the best, but the apples are the sweetest they’ve ever tasted.” He then picked up a slice and put it in his grandmother’s mouth.

Grandmother took a bite and happily said, “Sweet, Yiming, try it. These apples really are sweet.”

Shen Yiming also picked up a piece with a toothpick and ate a couple of bites, then paused for a moment before taking another piece to try.

Song Gang smiled and asked, “How is it? Tasty, right?”

“Very sweet.” Shen Yiming nodded.

Seeing that he liked it, Grandmother didn’t bring up the subject of asking Song Gang to take the basket back, and she went to the kitchen to cook for the two kids. Yiming was going to the countryside soon, so she needed to make plenty of good food for him.

Once Grandmother left, Shen Yiming brought up the topic of changing the car in town with Song Gang.

“This isn’t a big deal, it’ll be fine. It’s not possible to get the best car, but an old one recently taken out of service from the provincial city should be fine. Last time, the relationship you helped us build with the coal yard in the provincial city solved a big problem for our transportation company. The leaders are really valuing me now. The year just turned, and I might be getting a new position soon. You, this little guy, even went to the countryside and helped me solve things.”

“You mentioned the coal supply difficulties before, and I kept it in mind. When the opportunity came, I took care of it,” Shen Yiming smiled.

Song Gang sighed, “It was all set for you to come to our transportation company, and the leaders really liked you, but then the higher-ups disagreed… When my dad found out, he was furious. He’s so biased. You’re his biological child, but he treats you worse than those he brought in. You didn’t even use his connections, but he’s using his connections to stop you from succeeding.”

Shen Yiming, with an indifferent expression, said, “Alright, let’s not talk about that. But about my grandmother, after I go back, you should keep an eye on her. Her health isn’t good, and I’m worried.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to come see Teacher Zhao at least once a week. If it weren’t for Teacher Zhao, I’d still be a mess,” Song Gang grinned, thinking back to when he and Shen Yiming were kids, and Teacher Zhao would often use the pointer to smack them. Strangely enough, even though it was always his fault, Shen Yiming would be the one who got punished. That’s when he realized how much Teacher Zhao cared for him, more than for her own grandson.

Back in Zuo Jiatuan, Zuo Dan was woken up by Zuo Cong.

It was a holiday today, and the bus from the city was running extra shifts. The morning bus had already arrived, and Zuo Cong rushed back home after taking it. When he found his sister still sleeping, he went to check on their grandmother. After returning and finding she was still asleep, Zuo Cong decided to inspect his “new home.” After some time, and it was almost lunchtime, Zuo Cong decided to wake his sister up.

It was his only day off, and he had to go back to school early the next morning. He couldn’t let her sleep all day.

Zuo Dan, still drowsy, got out of bed. She got dressed, and Zuo Cong had already prepared water for her to wash her face. When she opened the door, he placed it on the little table in the yard, saying, “Sis, hurry up and wash your face. Mom went to Grandma’s to make dumplings. She said we’re all eating dumplings at Grandma’s today.”

Zuo Dan knew it was dumplings today; after all, she had brought the flour. But it was done in the name of her third uncle. So, today, they would eat at her third uncle’s house. After all, the old lady was there, and the family would be gathered around her. Now that the old lady wasn’t like before, Zuo Dan didn’t mind having a reunion meal with her grandmother.