RIRW – Chapter 55

Some Chapters are password protected, please use - rirw2025c to unlock these chapters. This is to top theft of translations.

When Zuo Dacheng returned home, he was carrying a kraft paper-wrapped scarf in his hand. The whole family was waiting for him in the yard, and as soon as he entered, Zuo Chengcai excitedly asked, “Second Brother, how did it go with the foundation?”

Li Hui, Zuo Dan, and Zuo Cong all looked at him expectantly. After all, this was the first step in building their house.

Zuo Dacheng smiled and said, “It’s settled! Uncle Shuisheng said that the plot of land is pretty much useless right now and that no one else is using it, so he has the authority to approve it. But once the foundation is set, we can’t move it in the future.”

“Of course! With such a spacious area, why would we ever want to move it?” Zuo Chengcai clapped his hands and stood up, unable to contain his excitement. “I can’t sit still—I need to head over to the brick factory to make arrangements. They don’t produce that many bricks each day, so I’ll need to place an order in advance. Second Brother, I’ll be busy running around the county after this, so the house construction will need you and Sister-in-law to oversee things.”

“That’s no problem at all—it’s our responsibility, and it’s nothing to fuss about,” Zuo Dacheng said generously, waving his hand. His younger brother was treating him like family again, so how could he refuse to help with something so manageable? Besides, the construction wasn’t just for his brother’s family; their own house would also need to be built, and someone had to oversee it anyway.

Zuo Chengcai rushed off in a hurry.

Zuo Dan was thrilled as well. They were about to live in a spacious new house. She was already planning to transplant one or two fruit trees into the big courtyard after it was built. The grain output in Zuojiatun had never been high, and she wanted to see if they could grow fruit trees instead. That way, they could reduce their reliance on the orchard for income. It wouldn’t make sense to keep relying on the orchard’s fruit to make money forever.

Zuo Dan wasn’t looking to single handedly earn enough money to support the entire family. What she really wanted was to find a path to prosperity for everyone. Then she could live a comfortable life without worrying about making ends meet.

With her father Zuo Dacheng and mother Li Hui’s personalities, going to a big city to start a business wasn’t an option. But if they could lease land in Zuojiatun to grow fruit trees, that would be ideal.

Zuo Dacheng had no idea what his daughter was thinking. He glanced at her, then gave Li Hui a look and deliberately said, “Ah, Hui, I had someone bring back a scarf, but the color isn’t quite right.”

The two of them had been married for so many years that they could communicate with just a glance. Li Hui immediately understood and took the scarf from Zuo Dacheng’s hand. She unwrapped the paper and took one look before figuring it out.

How could she not? The bright red color made it obvious. At her age, Zuo Dacheng would never buy something so vividly red for her. Plus, she was the one managing the family finances. How could Zuo Dacheng buy anything without her knowing?

“It’s too red—it’s not suitable for me. Wearing it out would make people laugh. Let Dandan wear it instead,” Li Hui said, putting the scarf around Zuo Dan’s neck.

Zuo Dan wasn’t too fond of the bright red color either. It was so red…

“It looks great—just right,” Li Hui said with a smile.

Zuo Dan tried to take it off. “No way. Dad bought it for you. It doesn’t make sense for me to have it.”

Zuo Dacheng quickly stopped her. “I’ll get another one for your mom. You wear this one. The person picked the wrong color, and it suits you. No need to return it and make things awkward for them.”

The thing about honest people is that they rarely lie, so when they do, no one suspects them. At least Zuo Dan didn’t doubt for a second that her straightforward father could be lying to her.

She touched the soft scarf around her neck. It was warm. Smiling brightly, she said, “Alright, I’ll wear it then.”

“Wear it. The New Year isn’t over yet, so it’s good to be festive for a few days,” Li Hui said approvingly.

“Sis, it looks great,” Zuo Cong complimented. But as he spoke, he felt a bit embarrassed about his own empty pockets. He didn’t even have the money to buy New Year’s gifts. His sister had bought him such nice shoes, yet he hadn’t gotten her anything.

Hearing her brother’s praise, Zuo Dan felt pleased with herself. She had to admit, the quality of the scarf was excellent—it felt like wool and was incredibly warm. Finally, she didn’t have to hunch her shoulders against the cold. In this freezing weather, the wind constantly howled, and even wearing a down vest secretly hadn’t been enough. She decided she’d buy a scarf for Li Hui next time she went to the county town. After all, she couldn’t stay warm while letting Li Hui freeze.

Even though she got a new scarf, Zuo Dan wasn’t like some other girls who’d parade it around the entire village, eager for everyone to notice. It was just too cold for that—she thought it wasn’t worth it. But unexpectedly, Li Chenliang came knocking on her door, asking to talk to her.

When Zuo Dan saw him, her eyebrow twitched. To be honest, she didn’t feel she owed him anything. She made money through him, but he also made money through her. It was mutually beneficial. However, unilaterally breaking off their agreement… well, she did feel a tiny bit guilty about that. She figured she should maintain some professional ethics and give him a proper explanation.

After telling Zuo Cong where she was going, Zuo Dan headed out, her bright red scarf wrapped around her neck.

Watching his sister leave with Li Chenliang, Zuo Cong felt a little worried. He thought Li Chenliang had shifty eyes and felt like he had to be on guard to prevent him from deceiving his sister. But he didn’t dare follow them, fearing it would upset her. After some thought, he decided to wait until she got back to remind her to be careful not to get tricked.

On a small piece of open land near the village, Zuo Dan was inspecting her family’s foundation while discussing matters with Li Chenliang. “I told you last time, we can’t do those things anymore. It’s too risky. If we get caught, we’ll go to jail. Compared to that, my family would rather not make money.”

Li Chenliang didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he kept staring at the scarf around her neck. “Zuo Dan, that scarf… someone didn’t give it to you, did they?” he asked awkwardly, clutching the bag in his hand.

Rolling her eyes, Zuo Dan replied, “My dad bought it.”

“Oh.” Li Chenliang felt a bit better and smiled. “No wonder the color is so ugly. It’s too bright.” He pulled out a scarf from his bag. “Here, this is your New Year’s gift. I got it from a big mall. It’s way better looking than the one you’re wearing.”

Zuo Dan had thought they were going to talk business, but somehow the conversation shifted to scarves. And now her dad’s scarf was being mocked. She felt a little annoyed. “I don’t want it. I think the scarf my dad bought is great. I like bright colors—they’re festive.”

“…” Li Chenliang awkwardly unwrapped his scarf and said, “Look, mine’s definitely better. Most people couldn’t even get their hands on something like this.”

Hearing his boastful tone, Zuo Dan glanced at it. She had to admit, the dark green color was quite nice—much more subdued than her bright red scarf. The material looked good too.

It seemed perfect for someone her mom’s age.

Noticing her unblinking gaze, Li Chenliang grew smug. She had just said she didn’t want it, but now she clearly liked it. This proved he had good taste. After all, he had chosen it based on his mom’s preferences. Everyone said his mom had great taste, so how could the scarf be anything less than excellent?

“Well, what do you think? Do you like it? It’s yours.”

Zuo Dan looked up at him. “You’re really giving it to me?”

“Yeah,” Li Chenliang nodded.

Zuo Dan shook her head. Despite often taking advantage of Li Chenliang to make more money, she couldn’t bring herself to accept his gift for free. They weren’t related, so it didn’t feel right to take something from him without reason.

“If you give it to me, I won’t take it—unless you let me buy it from you,” she said. She had been planning to buy a scarf for Li Hui anyway, and this one was perfect. It was likely even better than what she could find in the county town. Besides, Li Chenliang, a grown man, wouldn’t need to keep the scarf for himself. By the time he gave it to someone else, winter would already be over. He might as well sell it to her.

Li Chenliang was stunned. “You don’t want it unless you pay for it?” This didn’t make sense. This girl was always demanding money, yet now when he offered her something, she wasn’t interested? If it had been another girl, she would have happily worn the scarf around her neck already.

Zuo Dan firmly nodded. “Li Chenliang, if you don’t need it, just sell it to me.”

“…”

It was meant to be given to her, so what was the point of keeping it? Fine, he’d sell it!

Seeing Li Chenliang reluctantly nod, Zuo Dan couldn’t contain her excitement. She quickly pulled money out of her pocket, handing over a few bills—some industrial notes, some cloth coupons.

One hand for the money, one hand for the goods—Zuo Dan happily accepted the scarf from Li Chenliang and immediately wrapped it up again.

Li Chenliang didn’t bother counting the money and just shoved it into his pocket. Noticing she wasn’t wearing the scarf yet and had wrapped it back up, he asked, “Why aren’t you wearing it? Didn’t I sell it to you?”

“Oh, I’m going to give it to my mom. This scarf was bought by my dad for her, but she didn’t like the color, so she gave it to me. Your scarf is just right for my mom.”

“…”

Li Chenliang suddenly felt a cold breeze running down his neck, making him shiver all over.

Zuo Dan’s response left Li Chenliang feeling frustrated. He didn’t even want to talk about business anymore, so he tossed his hands up and walked off towards the educated youth center in irritation.

Zuo Dan thought Li Chenliang’s behavior was too erratic—he was like a child who couldn’t make up his mind. It reminded her of the saying: “His mood is as unpredictable as the weather in June,” and Li Chenliang was no different. However, she smiled and glanced at her new scarf, feeling quite pleased with herself. She turned around, holding the scarf, and walked home, planning to surprise Li Hui.

Not far along the road, she spotted Shen Yiming coming out of Old Lady San’s house.

Ever since the night before the Lunar New Year, Zuo Dan hadn’t had a proper conversation with Shen Yiming. Seeing him unexpectedly, her mind flashed back to the nonsense he had spouted that night.

“Zuo Dan.” Shen Yiming greeted her casually, clearly thinking no one had understood the nonsense he’d spoken the other day.

“Oh, it’s Comrade Shen Yiming.” Zuo Dan greeted him seriously. “Happy New Year.”

“Happy New Year.” Hearing her greeting, Shen Yiming smiled, his eyes narrowing in amusement.

Zuo Dan secretly cursed him as a rogue. A cultured rogue was even more terrifying. He was definitely remembering the things he’d said to tease her that night. She squinted at him and smiled. “By the way, Comrade Shen Yiming, since it’s the New Year, let me tell you a joke.”

Shen Yiming glanced at her bright red scarf, which made her face look even rosier. He absentmindedly responded, “Hmm, go ahead.”

Zuo Dan chuckled and began, “Once upon a time, there was a country called Java. There was a man there who was always being bullied, so he thought of a devious plan to bully others. He traveled all the way to a country of little people, relying on the language barrier, and randomly pointed at one of them and yelled, ‘You’re an idiot!’”

As she spoke, she mimicked the action of pointing at Shen Yiming, making it look so vivid that it seemed as if he was the little person being insulted.

“The little person didn’t understand, and just stared at him. He felt a great sense of accomplishment, so he continued to yell, ‘You’re an idiot! You’re an idiot!’”

She kept pointing at Shen Yiming, calling him an idiot several times, before bursting into laughter. “Isn’t that hilarious? Haha, you’re an idiot! I just think about it and start laughing.”

Shen Yiming shook his head. “I think this joke could be told from a different perspective.”

Zuo Dan grinned at him, “You’ve heard this one too?” She was just making it up, it was all created just to call him stupid.

Shen Yiming smiled, “The person you spoke about was from Java, so let me tell one from the country of little people. In their country, there was a man who was working fine, but suddenly some eccentric person came out, pointed at him, and started yelling. After yelling, they kept laughing foolishly. The little person thought, ‘Where did this fool come from?’” He looked at Zuo Dan with surprise.

Zuo Dan: “…” Serves you right that no one understands your confessions. I wish you could celebrate Singles’ Day every year, live your life as a forever-single guy. You’re going to be a single dog for life.

Shen Yiming switched topics, “But look, both are fools. Don’t you think they’re well matched? If these two got married, they’d reduce the burden on society, and maybe even help build a better tomorrow.”

Zuo Dan chuckled, “Comrade Yiming, as expected of an active comrade among the educated youth, always thinking about building a better tomorrow. Not bad, not bad. Next time, I’ll have Grandma Qi keep an eye on you. I’m sure she’ll find you someone even dumber.” She said that while walking away with a smug smile.

Shen Yiming watched her back and smiled.

Not far behind, the door to Old Lady San’s house opened, and a young man in military uniform stepped out. Seeing Shen Yiming still standing there, he curiously asked, “Yiming, you’re still here?”

Shen Yiming turned around and smiled, “Dong Ge.”

Zuo Dongshan walked over and said, “Still worried about what I told you? Don’t worry, I think there’s a good chance. I have comrades in the military district in the provincial capital, so it’s definitely possible. It’s just that the pay isn’t as good as for workers. There’s nothing I can do, I’ve been in the army for years, but my connections are pretty good.”

“Dong Ge, I don’t care about that. You and Old Lady San are helping me so much, I’m really grateful.”

“Don’t mention it. My mom says you’re a good comrade, so I have to help. If not, she’d get mad at me,” Zuo Dongshan said with a smile.

Shen Yiming grinned shyly.

Zuo Dan felt like she needed to read more books. There were beautiful women in books, houses of gold, and wise words for insulting people. Once she mastered a sharp tongue, she’d make sure to tear Shen Yiming apart. He could talk about loving tiger oil all he wanted, but all he’d ever love was rat oil.

Although she was furious inside, Zuo Dan didn’t show it when she got home, not wanting anyone to think she had been bullied. Could she, Zuo Dan, ever be bullied? Definitely not.

So when she got home, Zuo Dan smiled brightly and took the new scarf she had bought for Li Hui, wrapping it around Li Hui’s neck, leaving her in shock.

“Where did this come from?” Li Hui asked, surprised.

“Oh, remember when I helped design the basket pattern? Third Uncle gave us some money for it. It was settled before the New Year, I just didn’t tell you. I had the educated youth bring it over. I thought the color would suit you.”

Li Hui was extremely touched. Her daughter was really filial. “It’s really nice, I love it.” Then, looking at Zuo Dan, she added, “Our Dandan is so filial, I can’t bear to think of you getting married in the future.”

Zuo Dan waved her hand, “Then I won’t get married.”

“That won’t do,” Li Hui said seriously. “How can you not get married? Not only do you need to get married, but you also need to pick the right one. Character is the most important thing, and of course, they must treat our Dandan well. Dandan, tell me what kind of person you like, and I’ll keep an eye out for you.” She said this in a somewhat probing tone.

“I’m not interested in anyone,” Zuo Dan shook her head firmly.

Li Hui became a little upset. This was bad. It seemed like her daughter wasn’t interested in Shen Yiming at all.

Zuo Dan said she was studying at home, and she really was. She took Zuo Cong’s high school textbooks and started flipping through them, only to find that some of the problems were still a bit difficult. But no matter, she had strong self-learning abilities. She started with the example problems, step by step, and the more she looked, the easier it became. She started to develop a strong interest in studying… but that was impossible. She’d always been the type to study just enough to get by. However, now she had a small goal: she wanted to outperform Shen Yiming in the future college entrance exam.

It wasn’t that hard to read books, after all. She was a graduate of a proper university.

Before Zuo Dan could finish reading one book, the foundation for the new house in the Zuo family began to be laid.

For the sake of building the house, Zuo Shuisheng specially made a big fuss, gathering the entire village and giving a speech about the power of unity. In short, the message was simple: the Zuo family was building a house. Those who had strength should contribute, and those who didn’t should just come and join in the fun. Everyone was to help build the house.

When this news spread, the first person to be shocked was Zuo Hongjun. After that day, he had stayed inside his house, avoiding going out, even for the New Year, just to avoid meeting his two brothers.

He didn’t dare face them, and he wasn’t sure why, he just knew he didn’t want to see anyone. He even thought that if Dacheng spoke to him again, he would at least acknowledge him, unlike before.

Who knew, the second and third brothers were going to build a house. And not just on the original foundation, but on the far edge of the village. It seemed they wanted to completely sever ties with him.

Zuo Hongjun looked utterly defeated, his bloodshot eyes staring at Zuo Dacheng’s glowing red face.

The rest of the villagers were curious, asking Zuo Dacheng about the house building. “Why all of a sudden, are you building a house?”