Chapter Twelve: On the Way to the County Town, Part Two

“Exactly! If you ask me, with that money, it’s better to save it for buying meat or to get some cloth from home to make a new dress. A young girl shouldn’t just spend carelessly like that; she doesn’t know how to manage a household!”

A woman with slightly crossed eyes quickly chimed in to agree with her old sister’s words. Her tone suggested as if Yun Shu was spending her family’s money.

The other two women frowned at this shameless remark, rolling their eyes at these two who were always looking to take advantage.

Yun Shu was startled by their sudden behavior. Once she recovered, she saw their hands acting without restraint, their eyes flickering with a hint of entitlement, which immediately made her furious.

Lin Jingshu, standing nearby, had just realized what was happening and was about to defend her friend when she saw her delicate, soft friend suddenly shake off the hand with the slanted eyes and sternly frown as she spoke to the two women.

“Auntie, if you want to talk, then talk. Don’t touch me.”

“Besides, you’re imagining things. I bought this dress with my own money. Neither I nor my family are irresponsible, nor will we go hungry just because of one dress.”

The woman with slanted eyes and the one with slightly crossed eyes dared to lay hands on Yun Shu because they saw Yun Shu and her companions as strangers, and Yun Shu’s tender face made her seem like an easy target, a new educated youth to bully.

But she never expected that after years of bullying others in the team, today she would be directly snubbed and humiliated by a young girl.

The woman with slanted eyes was stunned when her hand was pushed away. When she realized what had happened, she immediately flew into a rage, forgetting all the lessons taught by Captain Xie over the years. With one hand on her waist, she confronted Yun Shu fiercely.

“Little brat, who do you think you’re slapping in the face? Don’t you know who in Fengsheng Brigade dares to mess with me?”

Zhang Cuihua, the woman with slanted eyes, had been holding back for a long time. Finally, she found an opportunity to vent. Now, without Captain Xie around, if it weren’t for being restricted on the ox cart, she would have jumped up and torn into Yun Shu.

Upon hearing her self-introduction, Yun Shu immediately understood why this woman was such a nightmare—it was because Zhang Cuihua was the same person who had repeatedly targeted the original female lead, Lin Jingshu, in the story and had hoped to marry off the original female lead, who was losing money, to her ne’er-do-well son.

“I was just trying to talk to you nicely, trying to advise you to be more frugal, and now you... Ow!”

Zhang Cuihua’s dirty fingers, still stained with black mud, gestured right in front of Yun Shu’s face. Lin Jingshu was frightened and quickly hugged her friend, leaning back to keep her away from Zhang Cuihua’s touch while stepping forward to defend her friend.

Three men walking nearby also wanted to step in and ‘break it up,’ but before Zhang Cuihua could finish her tirade, the driver, Old Zhang, suddenly turned around and struck her hand with a whip.

Zhang Cuihua immediately clutched her hand and cried out in pain. Looking up at Old Zhang’s stern face, she wanted to protest but swallowed her words in fear.

After all, Old Zhang was her elder uncle, her father’s older brother, who had never spared the rod since she was a child.

After being whipped, Zhang Cuihua regained some reason, but at nearly forty years old with children of her own, she was unwilling to lose face to a teenager like Yun Shu.

Covering her hand and feeling aggrieved, she shouted, “What are you doing? I didn’t do anything wrong! Uncle, why are you hitting me...?”

“Still talking back! What do you want? Who do you think you’re yelling at?”

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to! What do you care what a little educated youth wears, good or bad? Why do you have to gossip and point fingers?”

“What? You think you can save that money and spend it however you like, or control others?”

“You even dared to lay hands on her? Just wait till I report this to the captain! Last year, you pulled on another girl’s clothes and caused such a scene even the Youth Affairs Office knew about it. How many centimeters did your pay get docked? You, Zhang Cuihua, never learn, huh!”

“If you cause any more trouble, get off the cart and go back to the team! Don’t embarrass us out here!”

“You worthless thing! And you, Li Xiaohua, same goes for you. Got that?”

“Yes, we got it...”

“Then apologize to Educated Youth Xie! You’re so old and yet you’re worse than the kids in the team. How can you have such a rotten heart?”

“Educated Youth Xie, we’re sorry...”

The once peaceful forest road at dawn, filled with birdsong and insect chirps, turned tense and silent after Old Zhang’s fierce shout, scaring away the birds and insects like the eerie quiet of Silent Hill.

The two women who were reprimanded, trembling and huddled together, dared not refuse. Having lost face, they could only nod hurriedly in agreement, regretting their loose tongues and hands. They were already worrying about how to explain this to their men at home and how to face the captain’s wrath.

***

After the commotion, things finally calmed down.

Yun Shu, who had been apologized to, and Lin Jingshu, who hadn’t had a chance to speak, exchanged glances. Chen Ming, standing nearby, was the first to react. He stepped forward and pulled out a more than half-full pack of Double Happiness cigarettes from his pocket to offer to Old Zhang.

“Uncle, you’re a real man!”

Yun Shu quickly thanked him and pulled out a few White Rabbit candies from her pocket to give to Old Zhang.

“Thank you, Uncle. Please take these candies home to the children to sweeten their mouths.”

“No, no! These are good things; you should keep them yourselves! Don’t give them to me! You kids these days—”

Old Zhang, unable to resist Chen Ming and the eager-looking Yun Shu, awkwardly stuffed the gifts into his pocket.

His mood visibly improved, he glanced again at the two troublemakers behind them. Although he grumbled that these newly arrived educated youths were a bit careless and didn’t know how to manage their lives, having lived so many years, he knew which words were appropriate and which were not. As they traveled along, he took the opportunity to brief them on many matters concerning Fengsheng Brigade.

When the ox cart reached the county town, Old Zhang told them,

“If you have anything, you can send it back first. I’ll keep an eye on it for you, or you can send it back to the youth dormitory. The ox needs to rest and eat. The morning cart leaves at ten.”

“All right, Uncle, please wait for us a moment. I’ll first go to the post office to pick up the package my parents sent and trouble you to take it back.”

“I’ll give you the key later. Please help me put the things inside and lock the door. When I come back in the afternoon, just return the key to me.”

The original occupant’s family mail probably didn’t contain anything inappropriate. Yun Shu planned to check it later and then have Old Zhang take it back, as she expected to buy quite a few bulky items from the supply and marketing cooperative. Sending some back first would be convenient.