Chapter 28 Money, or, the body.
The curtain of the dugout was lifted and then fell back down, bringing in a dusty smell. Shu Ran carried the heavy bucket of water, her steps unsteady, looking as disheveled as if she had just been pulled out of a mud pit.
In the dim light, Sister Wang and Li Xiulan immediately gathered around.
"Oh my God!" Sister Wang exclaimed in surprise when she saw Shu Ran's soaked trousers and mud-splattered shirt, as well as her obviously pale and tired face. "Did she fall? Put it down quickly!" She quickly took the bucket of water and put it aside, the weight of which made her sway.
Li Xiulan quickly grabbed Shu Ran's arm and helped her sit on the edge of her bed: "Sister Shu Ran, is your back alright?" As she spoke, she reached out to lift the back of Shu Ran's clothes.
"It's alright, Xiulan, it's really alright." Shu Ran held her hand and forced a smile. "The bucket hoop just broke suddenly, I got water all over myself and fell, but I didn't break any bones." She downplayed the seriousness of the situation, not wanting them to worry too much, nor wanting to appear too fragile.
"Where's the bucket?" Sister Wang put down the bucket, looked at Shu Ran's empty hands, and then at her disheveled appearance, and asked with concern.
"The bucket... the bucket is completely broken. The hoop broke, and the bucket wall is cracked," Shu Ran sighed, looking annoyed.
Those were supplies issued to the company. If they were damaged, they had to be registered and reported as damaged. I don’t know if Zhou Qiaozhen will use this against me.
"Uncle Yang brought the broken bucket back for me and left it outside."
"This old bucket! How many years has it been used! It should have been replaced long ago!" Sister Wang said indignantly. "Your back isn't fully healed yet, look at the mess you've made!" As she spoke, she quickly pulled out a relatively clean but stiff old towel from under her bed and handed it to Shu Ran. "Quickly wipe yourself off, and change your wet pants right away, don't make yourself sick!"
Li Xiulan sighed, poured out a small basin of warm water that she had saved in the morning, and brought it to Shu Ran's feet: "Sister Shu Ran, wipe your legs and feet first, and quickly change into dry clothes. This dampness getting into your bones is no good."
Shu Ran didn't say anything more, took the towel, soaked it, wrung it out, and carefully wiped the mud off her legs.
Shu Ran took off her soaking wet trousers and shoes and changed into a spare pair of military trousers. The knees of the trousers were worn white, shrunken from washing, and the cuffs were too short, revealing her slender ankles.
I could only wear soaking wet leather shoes for the time being, and my feet were ice cold.
At this moment, Sister Wang took out a pair of liberation shoes from somewhere and handed them to Shu Ran, whispering, "Before you came back, Officer Chen gave these to me, saying they were part of your teachers' quota, and asked me to bring them back to you."
After saying this, she looked back to make sure Zhou Qiaozhen wasn't looking at her, then looked into Shu Ran's eyes and asked, "Ran, do you really have quotas? I saw Officer Chen come out of the supply and marketing cooperative with shoes in his hand."
Shu Ran frowned slightly; she was unaware of this matter at the moment.
Seeing her hesitation, Sister Wang shoved the things into her arms without thinking twice. "Since Officer Chen said so, then we have them. Besides, these leather shoes of yours aren't suitable for wearing here; they're a waste. Quickly wipe them clean and put them away."
"Thank you, Sister Wang, Xiulan," she whispered her thanks, truly feeling the warmth of the gesture.
Now is not the time to complain; she needs to regain her strength as soon as possible, as there are more important things waiting for her.
As for those liberation shoes, let's just consider them her quota. She'll find an opportunity to ask him about them later. She doesn't have any new shoes to change into right now, and the supply and marketing cooperative is already closed. She can always buy him a new pair later.
Zhou Qiaozhen sat on her bunk, her back to them, pretending to flip through a copy of "Selected Works of Mao Zedong." The scene at the intersection had clearly made her lose face among the female workers in the company.
After Shu Ran finished getting ready and changed into a dry top, she finally looked less disheveled.
She walked to the half-person-high rough earthenware water vat in the corner, stood on tiptoe, and laboriously poured the water from the bucket into it with a "splash".
A few murky splashes of water rose and landed on the rim of the jar. The thin layer of water at the bottom was finally covered, and the surface swayed gently, still far from full.
"Hmph, is that all?" Zhou Qiaozhen's icy voice drifted over. "Who's that enough for? Capitalist daughters are so precious, they treat fetching water like it's their life, and they even break public property!"
Sister Wang tried to smooth things over: "The barrel hoop broke due to its age; it was an accident. We'll just take it to be repaired later. Xiulan and I both cleaned it at work today, so it won't use much water."
Li Xiulan chimed in, "Yes, Sister Qiaozhen, I still have half a basin of water. I'll bring it to you." She then went to fetch the water.
Zhou Qiao rolled her eyes: "Alright, alright, stop pretending. Do you really think I can't see that you two are taking her side?"
Shu Ran clicked her tongue and looked coldly at Zhou Qiaozhen, "I will go to the logistics department tomorrow to explain the situation. We will compensate and repair as needed, and handle it according to the rules. As for the water, I will fill it up first thing tomorrow morning."
She paused, and before Zhou Qiaozhen could speak again, added, "Comrade Zhou Qiaozhen, the dormitory is a place for everyone to rest, not a place for criticism meetings. If you really want to target me, go find the Party Secretary, the Company Commander, and Officer Chen tomorrow to submit a report against me!"
These words left Zhou Qiaozhen speechless. She could make things difficult, she could spread rumors, but Shu Ran had brought up the perfectly legitimate reason of "rest area," so any further entanglement from her would seem vulgar and unreasonable.
She gave a heavy "humph," slammed the book she was holding onto the bed, jumped off the bed, and stormed out, slamming the curtains behind her.
Shu Ran breathed a sigh of relief, gathered up her soaked clothes, stuffed them into a broken basket at the foot of the bed, and planned to find a place to wash them tomorrow.
She sat slumped on the bed with her eyes closed, just wanting to catch her breath.
The sky had already darkened. Shu Ran thought to herself: the sticky feeling on her body wouldn't go away, she had to go to that spring tonight and wash herself properly. Right now, the most important thing was to go to the cafeteria to fill her stomach and regain her strength.
The canteen was bustling with noise, a mix of steamed cornbread, pickled vegetables, and the occasional whiff of greasy food.
Shu Ran got her food and found a relatively quiet corner table to sit down. She had just taken a bite of her cornbread and hadn't even had a sip of soup when a figure sat down opposite her with a bowl in hand.
It's Zhou Wenbin.
He seemed thinner than the last time we met, and his eyes behind his glasses had redness from staying up all night and a deliberately suppressed excitement.
He glanced quickly to the left and right, and seeing that no one was paying much attention to them, he leaned forward and whispered urgently, as if sharing a secret: "Shu Ran, I have news!"
Shu Ran paused in her chewing, looked up at him with a questioning gaze, but didn't say anything.
"It's about getting back to Shanghai!" Zhou Wenbin almost gasped. "These past few days, I've been running around day and night, pulling strings, asking around, inquiring... and I've finally managed to get a connection!"
His tone carried a self-satisfied air of boasting, "The Corps is keeping a tight rein on things, but it's not a monolithic entity. I have a distant cousin who has some connections in the XX Committee, and he let slip that... he might be able to find a way to arrange for someone to retire due to illness or special family difficulties!"
Shu Ran's heart skipped a beat. Back to Shanghai?
She looked out the door at the endless salt flats. If she could escape the arduous labor here, escape the harassment of petty people, and return to the familiar city, even if it hadn't yet developed into a modern metropolis, life would still be more comfortable than here...
What's the point? These endless days of suffering, this ceaseless hardship and constant tension, these days where even taking a shower has to be done secretly...
She is not a saint. The struggles, fears, pain, and confusion of the past few days have converged into an impulse to go back, which has overwhelmed the psychological dam she had built with teaching and survival.
A strong sense of longing and grievance almost brought tears to her eyes, and her gaze flickered involuntarily.
Zhou Wenbin immediately noticed this subtle change. He was secretly pleased, but his expression became even more serious: "Yes! Go back to Shanghai! I know you're suffering too. It's such a waste for such a good girl like you, educated and beautiful, to be wasting your time here! The path I've found is difficult, but it offers opportunities!"
He changed the subject, his tone becoming more sincere: "However, Shu Ran, let me be frank, these days, to accomplish something this big, you need to smooth things over with all the connections, from top to bottom. It's risky to rely on those connections."
He paused, his gaze lingering on Shu Ran's pretty face. His voice lowered, carrying an ambiguous implication: "This 'smoothing' isn't just about money. Sometimes... people have to be in the right place too. You know what I mean?"
Shu Ran's heart sank. Having lived through the information explosion era, she understood all too well what this kind of "perfect" service meant—money, or, her body.
Looking into Zhou Wenbin's eyes, which were filled with hidden desires behind his glasses, she felt a wave of nausea.
Seeing that her expression changed, Zhou Wenbin assumed she was frightened and quickly changed to a considerate tone: "Of course, Shu Ran, we are from the same hometown, and given our situation, I certainly can't watch you suffer. If... if all else fails, there is an even safer way."
He licked his slightly chapped lips. "We can get married first. My family still has some influence and connections in Shanghai. Once we're married, I'll have a better reason to apply for a transfer. After I go back and establish myself, I'll find a way to bring you back! It's such a waste for such a wonderful girl like you to stay here in the Northwest and suffer! Really, I..."
He didn't say the rest, but his naked gaze revealed his thoughts—he was attracted to her. That face, that vulnerability emanating from this capitalist's daughter, became something that irritated him; it was all he wanted to grasp at that moment.
Shu Ran felt a chill run from her feet to the top of her head. Zhou Wenbin's scheme was devastating. His verbal promises were incredibly tempting, but the core was that he wanted her to pay an immediate price—either her body or the shackles of marriage. Once she was bound, returning to Shanghai? That would likely be a mirage; an even deeper abyss awaited her. She even doubted how genuine Zhou Wenbin's so-called connections were.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
