Chapter 6
The panic he felt when he first learned of Meng Tao's death returned. After nightfall, Chen Qing walked around the room without changing his clothes. Even though only a few of Meng Tao's clothes were missing, Chen Qing felt as if the room was completely empty.
Without lighting an oil lamp, he tiptoed to the door of Granny Sun's room. Just as his ear was close to the door, it opened from the inside.
Grandma Sun was startled and almost hit him: "What are you doing, Aqing?"
Chen Qing stammered, and Aunt Sun immediately realized what he meant: "Afraid I'll do something foolish?"
Chen Qing nodded. His stepfather had given him a good meal and then resolutely jumped into the river.
He was afraid that after Grandma Sun finished arranging Meng Tao's funeral, she would feel hopeless and do something foolish.
Grandma Sun patted Chen Qing's hair: "Don't be afraid."
Chen Qing nodded heavily, and carrying the promise Sun Da Niang had made to him, he slept very well.
After this matter was over, Chen Qing finally felt relieved. He worked with more energy these days, and while Zhou Yuan hadn't started repairing the house yet, the able-bodied people in the village rushed to finish their farm work.
These days, Zhou Yuan has been bringing back a lot of house repair materials from the town, and most of the talk in the village these days is about Zhou Yuan.
Chen Qing then noticed that he was bringing back blue bricks every time, because he was going to build a brick house. Looking at his own thatched roof, tiled roof, and yellow mud-plastered house, Chen Qing sighed, wondering when his family would be able to afford a brick house.
Because there was too much stuff piled up, Zhou Yuan never went back to town. He built a small shed and slept in it at night.
After a string of firecrackers went off, Zhou Yuan's house officially began to be built. He hired about ten young and strong men from the village, all of whom were introduced by the village chief. There were also a few who had come down from the battlefield with him. Having been tempered by the battlefield, they worked quickly and well.
As the house construction began, Chen Qing and his family started preparing lunch. Zhou Yuan bought all the vegetables and delivered them to Chen Qing's house every day. Chen Qing and Aunt Sun were both very capable workers, and they could arrange all the vegetables neatly and cleanly in just one morning.
Both Chen Qing and Aunt Sun are excellent cooks; even a simple stew tastes delicious.
They cook in their own kitchen every day and then deliver the food to the other side. Previously, it was Aunt Sun who delivered the food, but one day Aunt Sun almost twisted her ankle, so Chen Qing chose to go by himself. Rather than not wanting to go out, his mother's health was more important.
So delivering meals became the most difficult time for Chen Qing every day. What's more, most of the people working there were men from the village. Chen Qing would blush when talking to the aunties and husbands in the village, let alone in front of so many men.
The men in the village, in particular, were quite unrestrained with their words, often uttering vulgarities and swear words. Moreover, Chen Qing was a widow, so many of his jokes became crude and vulgar.
Seeing Chen Qing practically fleeing in panic, Zhou Yuan's gaze fell on the two men who had been teasing Chen Qing.
The next day, Zhou Yuan asked Aunt Sun to leave the prepared food at the door, and someone would come to pick it up. Chen Qing finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Because he had to cook for Zhou Yuan, the water in the house was used up very quickly, almost five days' worth of water in a single day. So when he finished work in the evening, Chen Qing would carry buckets to fetch water.
He didn't like interacting with the villagers, so he always chose to fetch water after dark. He was used to walking this road, so he wasn't afraid of slipping and falling in the dark. Grandma Sun's old ailment had flared up these past few days, and she couldn't use her back properly, so Chen Qing made a few extra trips.
However, to get to the well from home, one has to pass by Zhou Yuanxin's newly built house.
Chen Qing carried the water buckets, his steps very light, like a thief, even deliberately slowing his breathing, afraid of being overheard.
After walking that stretch of road, Chen Qing finally breathed a sigh of relief. However, Chen Qing did not know that Zhou Yuan had been a soldier and was in the vanguard battalion. Naturally, he was aware of every little movement around him. Through the simple shed, Zhou Yuan saw Chen Qing's small figure carrying water buckets and running very fast through the gaps.
The well wasn't far from his house, and one load of water was naturally not enough. Chen Qing poured the water into the water vat, and Aunt Sun saw him panting: "Aqing, why don't you fetch some more tomorrow?"
Chen Qing shook his head: "Two more trips will do." More people will see him during the day, so it's better to get things done under the cover of darkness when no one can see him.
Grandma Sun sighed helplessly, "Why are you acting like a thief when it's just fetching water?"
As the two were talking, there was a knock on the door. Chen Qing was still pouring water when Aunt Sun opened the door.
Chen Qing caught a glimpse of the tall figure at the door, quickened his pace, poured the water from the bucket into the water tank, and then hid inside the house.
"No need to trouble yourself, Aqing can carry it." Aunt Sun was very grateful to Zhou Yuan after learning his purpose, but Zhou Yuan had already given her a lot of money. Carrying water was their job, so why should Zhou Yuan help them carry water again?
"We didn't explain it clearly at the time," Zhou Yuan said sincerely. "It's a bit inconvenient for him, a husband, to go out and fetch water at night. I'll go instead. Besides, you've been very kind to me before. I'm strong enough to fetch some water."
Ever since Zhou Yuan built that shed, Aunt Sun would bring him dinner every few days. During the day, Zhou Yuan ate communal meals with everyone, and several times Aunt Sun saw him eating cornbread at night.
Seeing how big he was, how could he possibly eat only cornbread at night? So Chen Qing was asked to cook a little extra when he cooked dinner. Anyway, Zhou Yuan sometimes couldn't finish all the vegetables he delivered every day, so it was better to just send him some.
After declining several times, Aunt Sun realized that he wasn't just being polite and genuinely wanted to help, so she handed him her own water buckets and carrying pole, saying, "Then I'll have to trouble you."
Hiding inside the house, Chen Qing couldn't hear what they were saying. He picked up a basket and tried to find some medicine to relieve Grandma Sun's back pain. He planned to sew her a medicine pouch the next day when he had some free time to ease her pain.
A little while later, Aunt Sun returned. Chen Qing stood up to fetch water, but Aunt Sun stopped him, saying, "Zhou Yuan went to fetch it."
Chen Qing was somewhat surprised: "Why did he go?"
Grandma Sun remembered what Zhou Yuan had said: "It's too dark at night, and you're a young man, there might be some danger."
Chen Qing muttered, "What danger could there be?"
But my heartbeat became a little erratic.
Knowing Chen Qing's temperament, Aunt Sun said, "Zhou Yuan will bring the water back in a little while. After he leaves, go out and pour the water into the water tank. There should be enough water for tomorrow."
Chen Qing nodded. Because it was too dark in the room, Aunt Sun couldn't see Chen Qing's expression clearly. After taking the medicine packet from Chen Qing, she went back to her room.
Chen Qing sat on the bed. It was quiet outside, except for the chirping of insects in the vegetable garden.
A moment later, he heard a few knocks on the door. After a while, Chen Qing came out and saw the water buckets and carrying pole at the door. He took a deep breath, steadily picked up the water, and filled the buckets.
Every day after that, Zhou Yuan would go to fetch water at night. One bucket wasn't enough, so Zhou Yuan would put the water he brought back at the door, knock on the door, and leave. Chen Qing would pour the water back into the water tank, open the door again, put the bucket out, and then Zhou Yuan would go out to fetch more.
The construction work was in full swing, and Zhou Yuan worked alongside them. However, he was often absent, and whenever he was away, several men from the village would slack off.
Zhou Yuan offered generous compensation, so they naturally wanted to work a few more days so they wouldn't be too tired. Why not?
They thought they had done something perfect, but Zhou Yuan saw it all.
Zhou Yuan was supposed to pay wages every ten days. On the day he finished paying the wages, he pointed at the two people who were slacking off and said, "You don't need to come tomorrow."
Chen Si and Meng Zhuzi were still basking in the joy of receiving their wages when they heard Zhou Yuan tell them not to come anymore. The two immediately became furious: "Why can't we come?"
People around them were watching the two of them. When they were in the village, they were like the kind of hooligans who only relied on their family's kinship with the village chief's family to chase cats and tease dogs in the village. Many people in the village didn't like them.
Zhou Yuan didn't want to explain to them: "You should know the reason in your hearts."
Feeling humiliated like this, Chen Si and Meng Zhuzi pointed at Zhou Yuan's nose and said, "Tomorrow you'll be begging us to come and do the work."
Zhou Yuan didn't take them seriously at all; he simply picked up a broom, making it clear that he wanted them to get lost.
Chen Qing, who was in his own yard, also heard the argument over there. Seeing him peeking around, Aunt Sun smiled and said, "If you want to watch the show, go and see. There are so many couples over there."
Chen Qing quickly shook his head: "I'm not going..."
Grandma Sun put down her sewing basket and said, "Then I'll go and take a look for you."
Chen Qing watched eagerly as Aunt Sun went out, waiting for the excitement she would bring back.
"It's those Chen Si and Meng Zhuzi. Xiao Zhou won't let them work here anymore." Aunt Sun sat by the stove, tending the fire, and told Chen Qing what had happened over there.
"Huh? Why?" Chen Qing put a little bit of lard into the pot. After the lard melted, Chen Qing stir-fried the pumpkin slices and then added water to the pot. He planned to make noodle soup tonight. There was dough rising in the bowl over there, but it wasn't refined flour; it also contained some grains.
After scooping out the water, Chen Qing started kneading the dough. He heard Aunt Sun say, "Xiao Zhou said those two are always dawdling, so we'll just stop letting them come."
Chen Qing kept working. He knew those two people. He usually avoided them. When he went to deliver food earlier, they made some lewd remarks to him, which was very annoying.
"I just don't know what the village chief's plan is," said Aunt Sun. "Those two are related to the village chief, and Xiao Zhou just came to the village, so it's hard to say."
"The village chief can't force people to do things they don't want to do," Chen Qing said, kneading the dough. He thought of Zhou Yuan and felt that he wouldn't be bullied.
These were just casual conversations between them. Chen Qing held the dough in one hand and a knife in the other, and quickly sliced the dough into pieces and put them into the pot.
After the water boiled once, Chen Qing added a bowl of cold water to the pot. Once it boiled again, he added some seasonings, salt and pepper, and finally a handful of greens, two drops of sesame oil, and a handful of chopped green onions.
"Go and serve Xiao Zhou a bowl."
Chen Qing nodded. This wasn't the first time. Chen Qing found the biggest bowl in the house, filled it with water, and handed it to Aunt Sun. Aunt Sun always delivered meals to Zhou Yuan herself; Chen Qing had never done it before.
Grandma Sun carried her bowl over and saw from afar that the village chief was leading people toward the end of the road.
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