RIRW – Chapter 83

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After experiencing certain things multiple times, Zuo Dan felt they didn’t seem so awkward anymore. The next day, when she saw Shen Yiming, she was even able to give him a beautiful eye-roll.

Since she had promised yesterday to cook with Shen Yiming for her grandmother, she got up, brushed her teeth, and washed her face, feeling refreshed. Then, she pulled her grandmother out of the kitchen to let her rest and dragged Shen Yiming inside. To give her grandmother a surprise, she shut the door behind them.

As soon as the door was closed, Zuo Dan pushed Shen Yiming toward the stove. “Shen Yiming, hurry up, hurry up! I’ll assist you—come on, show off your cooking skills.”

Shen Yiming: “…”

Although Zuo Dan had eaten the pancakes he made before, this was the first time she actually watched him cook. Washing rice, kneading dough, beating eggs… his movements were smooth and fluid.

At first, she wanted to help, but she quickly realized that the more she tried, the more she got in the way. So, she simply plopped down on a stool beside the stove and watched him cook.

While Shen Yiming cooked porridge, he also made pancakes. When the fragrant millet porridge was ready, the even more enticing scallion and egg pancakes were done as well. Zuo Dan swallowed her saliva.

“This breakfast is really good, much better than what I usually make,” Grandma said, taking a bite of the pancake, her eyes squinting happily.

Zuo Dan felt a little uncomfortable. Her grandmother was so sharp—she must have known it wasn’t her who cooked. So, she honestly confessed, “Grandma, I have to be honest with you. I didn’t make this—Comrade Shen Yiming did. I wanted to, but I was afraid of wasting your good ingredients, so I didn’t dare to try.”

“That’s still your contribution. Without you supervising, Yiming wouldn’t have done such a good job,” Grandma encouraged her firmly.

Zuo Dan thought about it and felt it made sense. After all, she was the one who brought the water for kneading the dough. “Grandma, I’ll cook for you again at noon. Well, not exactly—I’ll supervise, and Comrade Shen Yiming will do the cooking. I promise you’ll enjoy your meal! Just sit back and let us take care of you.”

Grandma was overjoyed. “Alright, alright, I’ll wait for Dandan’s lunch then.”

Shen Yiming silently drank his millet porridge.

Just as they finished eating and cleaned up the dishes, Song Gang arrived carrying a bag of fruit.

Since the Shen family was small, he would visit every year during festivals to bring gifts to Grandma and have a meal together. It added to the festive atmosphere and made the Shen household feel livelier.

This year, even before entering the house, he could already hear laughter coming from inside.

When he stepped into the courtyard, he saw Shen Yiming watering the plants, while Zuo Dan sat with Grandma, chatting and laughing. Every few words from Zuo Dan made Grandma beam with joy, and whenever Grandma spoke, Zuo Dan burst into laughter.

Wow, it had been a long time since Teacher Zhao had been this happy. Looks like Shen Yiming really brought home a little treasure.

“Xiaogang, you’re here! Come in, come in! I was just telling Dandan about you and Yiming when you were kids,” Teacher Zhao greeted him warmly.

Song Gang shoved the fruit bag into Shen Yiming’s hands. “Wash these for Teacher Zhao.” Then, he quickly went over to sit next to Grandma.

Shen Yiming carried the fruit into the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Grandma continued reminiscing with Zuo Dan. “When Song Gang was little, he loved playing with Yiming.”

Song Gang quickly added, “Heh heh, back then, I was just a mischievous kid. I thought Yiming was easy to bully, so I always liked messing with him.”

Zuo Dan’s eyes sparkled. “How did you bully him?”

“When I was little, I loved eating rock sugar, but my parents wouldn’t let me have it. Yiming was only three years old at the time, so I took him to my house to steal some, thinking that if we got caught, I could just say Yiming wanted it, and my parents wouldn’t blame me. But just as we stole the sugar, my family came home. Yiming, being the loyal friend he was, let me hide it in his pocket. But who knew? He was such a scaredy-cat that when he saw my parents, he immediately burst into tears… A little kid can’t keep secrets—he confessed everything right away.”

Zuo Dan was ecstatic. She never expected Shen Yiming to have such an embarrassing childhood story. “And then what happened? Did you two get punished?”

“Not really. I got a beating, but my mom said Yiming was honest, so she let him eat the sugar.”

“…” That sounded like the ‘use the enemy’s strategy against them’ trick from The Thirty-Six Stratagems.

“Yiming even tried to comfort me, saying he’d save some sugar for me to eat later. But my mom overheard and made him eat it all right in front of me.”

Song Gang sighed. “After that, Yiming was too scared to come to my house for days. Thinking back, I kind of feel bad—I’m lucky I didn’t traumatize him.”

Zuo Dan thought: It’s more like you were the one almost outsmarted by Shen Yiming.

Just as they finished reminiscing, Shen Yiming came out with freshly washed and sliced fruit.

“Come on, eat some fruit. It’s fresh and super sweet. No ration tickets needed this time—they sold out fast,” Song Gang said, inviting everyone to dig in. Then, he added regretfully, “I wanted to buy the fruit baskets like last year, but they didn’t sell them this time.”

“Cough, cough, cough…” Zuo Dan choked on a bite. Shen Yiming patted her back gently, then picked up a slice of apple and stuffed it into Song Gang’s mouth. “Eat your fruit.”

After finishing the fruit, Zuo Dan and Shen Yiming went out to buy groceries. Song Gang wanted to tag along but was held back by Grandma, who wanted to chat about his personal life.

Since it was a festival, most of the goods at the supply and marketing cooperative had already been snapped up. There wasn’t much meat or vegetables left.

Seeing the nearly empty shelves, Zuo Dan was stunned. She hadn’t realized that city people were so ruthless, snatching up goods like frenzied shoppers.

She turned to Shen Yiming. “Shen Yiming, since you’re the one cooking lunch, I’ll respect your opinion. You figure out what to do. Whatever you buy, I’ll eat—I have no complaints.”

Shen Yiming sighed and straddled his bicycle. “Get on.”

Zuo Dan climbed onto the backseat and wrapped her arms around him. “Aren’t we buying vegetables? It’s a festival today. We can’t let Grandma go without a proper meal.”

“I have a plan.” Shen Yiming pedaled quickly, heading straight toward the suburbs.

His bicycle flew down the road, fast and fiery, making Zuo Dan feel like they were riding on two flaming wheels. Fortunately, they soon arrived at a village on the outskirts of town.

Shen Yiming expertly navigated to a small courtyard and called out, “Uncle Liu.”

A frail, bald old man soon opened the gate. When he saw Shen Yiming, his face lit up like a blooming flower. “Yiming, you’re here! Come in, come in.”

After Zuo Dan stepped inside, she noticed that the old man glanced around sneakily before closing the door as if he were doing something shady.

Without much conversation, he led them into the house and then to a backyard filled with rows of greenhouse sheds. He unlocked a shed door, revealing an abundance of fresh vegetables.

“Take whatever you need, pick the best ones,” the old man said with a smile.

Shen Yiming led Zuo Dan around to select vegetables, picking a variety of fresh produce. They especially stocked up on Chinese cabbage, filling half a sack with it.

Once Uncle Liu weighed everything, Shen Yiming asked, “Uncle Liu, do you have any meat?”

“I do. I just got some last night. I was planning to send it to an old customer, but if you want it, I’ll give it all to you.”

With that, he went into the kitchen and brought out a basket containing a two- to three-pound fish and a freshly caught wild mountain chicken.

By the time they left the courtyard, Shen Yiming’s bicycle was loaded with two large sacks of groceries.

Zuo Dan was amazed. She hadn’t expected people to be selling vegetables from their homes in this era. She whispered, “Shen Yiming, does he grow and sell vegetables at home?”

“Uncle Liu grows vegetables for government offices in the provincial capital. These vegetables belong to the state.”

“Then how does he dare sell them to you?”

“Oh, I was the one who introduced him to the unit he supplies. In these times, even getting fresh vegetables is a struggle. Some smaller organizations couldn’t get any at all, so they hired Uncle Liu to grow vegetables for them. He’s somewhat grateful to me. I rarely come here to buy, but today was an emergency.”

Zuo Dan finally understood. Shen Yiming seemed like a straight-laced, rule-abiding person, but behind the scenes, he was quite skilled at navigating the gray areas. More impressively, he managed to do it in a way that seemed completely above board.

“Shen Yiming, tell me—how can I live a comfortable life, eating and drinking well?”

“…Marry me.”

“…”

When they got home, Song Gang had already stuffed himself with fruit. Seeing that Shen Yiming had brought back so many vegetables, he quickly ran into the kitchen, loudly declaring that he was going to take two heads of Chinese cabbage home to honor his parents.

At noon, Shen Yiming prepared a grand feast. Song Gang tried to convince him to drink, but Shen Yiming glanced at Zuo Dan’s lips, then firmly shook his head. “Not today.”

Song Gang sulkily drank a cup by himself.

After the meal, he left to meet his girlfriend for a movie. Zuo Dan, however, had no interest in the crowded cinemas during the festival. She thought it would be better to take Grandma out for a stroll.

“I won’t go,” Grandma waved her hand. “I need my afternoon nap, and I want to read later. You young people go have fun. But remember to buy mooncakes—it’s the festival, so we must have mooncakes.”

So, Zuo Dan and Shen Yiming went to the supply and marketing cooperative to queue up for mooncakes. No wonder she had felt like something was missing—turns out, it was the mooncakes!

When they arrived, there was already a long line at the counter. A casual inquiry revealed that everyone was here for the same reason—mooncakes.

“Shen Yiming, why didn’t you remind me earlier? We don’t get these in the countryside, so I completely forgot we need to eat mooncakes today.”

Shen Yiming glanced at her chest and muttered, “…I forgot too.”

“What were you thinking about, that you could forget something so important?” Zuo Dan grumbled.

By the time they finally reached the front of the line, only one mooncake was left. Zuo Dan immediately asked the shop assistant to pack up this last precious mooncake. She was delighted. “Mooncakes should be shared—that’s what makes them special.”

“Comrade, do you have any more mooncakes?”

Just as Zuo Dan was holding her newly acquired treasure, a somewhat familiar voice rang out. She turned around and, with a smirk, said, “Oh, if it isn’t the cuckoo bird… I mean, Miss Du Juan?”

Du Juan had rushed over in such a hurry that she hadn’t even noticed Shen Yiming and Zuo Dan standing there. It wasn’t until she heard Zuo Dan speak that she finally took notice of them.

Shen Yiming stood beside Zuo Dan, staring straight ahead without even glancing at her. Meanwhile, Zuo Dan grinned and said, “Your Director Wei’s unit still lacks mooncakes? You shouldn’t be competing with us common folks for them. Oh, not that it matters—you couldn’t snatch one even if you tried. I just bought the last one.”

Hearing this, Du Juan’s expression turned cold, and she shot a sharp glare at Zuo Dan.

Zuo Dan hugged the mooncake close to her chest. “You can stare at me all you want, but I’m not giving it to you. Oh, right—your Xiaojun and Xiaohong are still stuck in the countryside eating black cornbread. How do you even have the heart to eat a mooncake yourself?”

“What did you do to my Xiaojun and Xiaohong?” Du Juan was instantly agitated upon hearing her children’s names.

“What could I have done? They’re staying there just fine. I even gave them some pork a few days ago. But seriously, you’re so heartless—sending the two youngest ones to the countryside? Who doesn’t send the older ones first in times like these?”

Zuo Dan clicked her tongue and sighed.

Du Juan clenched her fists in anger, her eyes fixed on Zuo Dan.

Zuo Dan glanced at her and casually said, “I was thinking, since we know each other, I could look after them a little as the village’s small-time cadre. But seeing how you seem to have a problem with me, I know what to do now.”

Du Juan’s nails dug into her palms as her face rapidly shifted from dark to bright. She forced a smile and said, “Comrade Zuo Dan, don’t misunderstand. I have no issues with you. It’s just that our family is visiting someone, and I was in a hurry to buy mooncakes. Now that I couldn’t get any, I was just feeling anxious.”

Zuo Dan finally looked satisfied. “As long as you explain yourself. I’m not a petty person. Next time we meet, remember to smile more.”

She tugged at Shen Yiming. “Yiming, let’s go home and eat our mooncake. Mid-Autumn Festival is all about togetherness!”

As they rode off on the bicycle, Zuo Dan cheerfully waved at Du Juan with a smirk, her expression filled with schadenfreude. Du Juan was so furious that she could barely maintain her forced smile.

Not only had she failed to buy mooncakes, but she had also been humiliated by Zuo Dan. Her face turned pale with anger. Just then, Wei Jingren approached and, seeing her expression, was startled. “Mom, what happened? Couldn’t get the mooncakes? If not, it’s fine. Aijun won’t mind—his family doesn’t really care about these things.”

Du Juan took a deep breath. “Jingren, I have to bring your brother and sister back to the city.”

Wei Jingren was stunned. “How… how are we supposed to bring them back? We don’t have any connections now.”

“Don’t we still have a house? We’ll trade it for two residency permits. We must bring them back.”

Wei Jingren was alarmed. “But then where would you live? That’s the only place we have left.”

“We’ll rent a place in the suburbs if we have to. No matter what, I have to bring them back first.” Du Juan couldn’t care about anything else anymore.

Wei Jingren’s heart pounded anxiously. “Mom, don’t rush into this. Shouldn’t we think it through first?” She had a feeling that no matter what they tried to do now, it would backfire.

“Think about what? It’s the holidays, and your siblings are still suffering in the countryside. Jingren, when did you become so heartless?” Du Juan’s eyes reddened. She had been humiliated by Zuo Dan earlier and needed to vent.

Hearing her mother call her heartless, Wei Jingren felt a sharp pain in her heart. She didn’t argue anymore. It wasn’t just her father who blamed her now—her mother had started blaming her too. But back then, it wasn’t her choice to stay in the city…

At the supply store, Zuo Dan carried her hard-earned mooncake and chuckled as she thought about Du Juan’s forced smile while fuming inside. “Shen Yiming, do you think I pushed her too far? What if she does something drastic?”

Shen Yiming replied, “Don’t worry. No matter what she does, we have nothing to fear.”

“I’m not scared at all. I have two trump cards in my hands. Without the old team leader’s approval, her precious kids can’t even return to the city.” Zuo Dan giggled. “I just want to watch her struggle—it’s more entertaining than a movie.”

Shen Yiming hummed in agreement, his gaze briefly flickering to her chest as she laughed.

Zuo Dan wasn’t particularly fond of shopping. Apart from buying, there was nothing else to do, and she wasn’t keen on unnecessary spending. After a short stroll, she and Shen Yiming returned home to keep her grandmother company.

That evening, they had dumplings—white flour wrappers stuffed with fresh greens and meat. The three of them ate heartily, and afterward, Zuo Dan led her grandmother to the courtyard, placing the precious mooncake onto a small round plate like a prized treasure.

The single mooncake looked rather lonely on the plate. Her grandmother was puzzled. “Why only one?”

“Grandma, it’s not that we didn’t buy more—it’s because I thought about it. There’s only one moon in the sky, so it’s more meaningful to have just one mooncake. After we cut it and share it, it still comes together as a whole. That’s what true family reunion means, don’t you think?”

Her grandmother smiled. “Dandan is right. We’ll share it as a family.”

Zuo Dan grinned. “Then let’s cut it up and eat! Shen Yiming, get the knife. We’re having mooncakes under the moonlight!”

They cut the mooncake into three equal pieces, each taking one while admiring the moon.

As they ate, Zuo Dan playfully tattled, “Grandma, Shen Yiming tried to trick me! He told me that Americans landed on the moon and didn’t see Chang’e. That’s a lie! I think you look just as beautiful as Chang’e. How could she not be there?”

Her grandmother laughed. “Yes, he’s lying. He’s been a liar since he was a child and always got spanked for it.”

Zuo Dan smirked at Shen Yiming and winked mischievously.

Shen Yiming silently stuffed the entire mooncake piece into his mouth and tilted his head up to stare at the sky.

After finishing the mooncake and enjoying the moonlight, her grandmother retired for the night. Zuo Dan didn’t dare stay outside with Shen Yiming any longer—otherwise, he might take advantage of her again. She quickly scurried inside.

She planned to wait for him to return to his room before sneaking out to fetch water to wash up. However, when she opened the door, she found that he had already brought her a basin of water.

After last night’s incident, she didn’t overthink it. If he didn’t lose control then, he wouldn’t tonight either.

But just as she was about to pick up the basin, she realized Shen Yiming was leaning against the doorframe, waiting for her.

Startled, she whispered, “What are you doing here?”

“There’s something I haven’t figured out. I need to ask you.”

“What is it?” she asked warily.

Shen Yiming lifted the basin. “Take this inside first. Don’t worry, once I get my answer, I’ll leave.”

Zuo Dan pouted. “If you go back on your word, don’t even think about holding my hand ever again.”

Shen Yiming immediately nodded in agreement.

After he placed the basin down inside, Zuo Dan asked, “Alright, what do you want to know?”

Shen Yiming stepped closer to her. “I want to know… what exactly is that iron vest of yours?”

“…!!!” Zuo Dan’s eyes widened in shock. She never expected Shen Yiming to be so shameless as to seriously ask such a question!