Chapter 4 Gratitude
Chapter 4
When Shen Yanzhou finished work at noon, he bought some groceries and came back. He pushed open the courtyard gate and saw a row of clothes still dripping wet hanging in the yard.
Hearing the door open, Yu Pan came out of the kitchen and immediately saw the pork belly that Shen Yanzhou was carrying.
Yu Pan's eyes lit up as she looked at Shen Yanzhou, and she circled around him.
"You're a tiger," Shen Yanzhou chuckled, then scooped a spoonful of water to wash his hands. "Is the rice cooked?"
Yu Pan nodded and gestured, "I just took the rice out to steam, and you came back."
"Then I've come back at just the right time." Shen Yanzhou dried his hands, dragged a low stool, and sat down at the kitchen door to pick vegetables.
The locals usually cook rice by first putting it in a pot to cook, then scooping it out and steaming it in a bamboo basket. This method makes the rice dry and not sticky.
According to their family's custom, Yu Pan should prepare the meal and wait for Shen Yanzhou to come home from work so they could eat, as this would be the most efficient way.
Shen Yanzhou wouldn't let Yu Pan touch it. Steaming rice was fine, but cooking rice took a long time. If she waited for Shen Yanzhou to come back from work to cook it, there wouldn't be much time for her to rest.
But Yu Pan can't cook.
The reason is simple: Shen Yanzhou was afraid that if Yu Pan cooked, he wouldn't be able to control his mouth; to put it bluntly, he was afraid that Yu Pan would secretly eat the food he cooked.
He wasn't worried about Yu Pan going hungry; he was afraid Yu Pan would overeat herself.
The wood-fired stove had a strong flame, and two dishes, one meat and one vegetable, were cooked in less than ten minutes.
Shen Yanzhou even fried two eggs while the food was still warm.
At the dinner table, Yu Pan picked up the meat and eggs one by one and ate them, her eyes squinting as she ate.
"Your cooking is still the best," Yu Pan gestured to Chen Yanzhou.
Shen Yanzhou chuckled, "Eat slowly."
"I'm already slow enough." Yu Pan stuffed a piece of meat and egg into his mouth. He meant it; Shen Yanzhou's cooking was indeed very good.
Even the most ordinary sweet potato porridge becomes exceptionally delicious after he cooks it. Yu Pan thinks that Shen Yanzhou's cooking is even better than that of Uncle Shen and Aunt Shen.
Thinking of this, Yu Pan secretly apologized to Uncle Shen and Aunt Shen in her heart. She didn't mean to say that their cooking was bad, but that Shen Yanzhou's cooking was more delicious.
After finishing his meal, Shen Yanzhou cleaned up the dishes and wrung out the clothes that were still dripping wet in the yard before taking a nap.
The quilt had just been aired out in the morning; it was soft and smelled of sunshine. Yu Pan snuggled in Shen Yanzhou's arms and fell asleep within minutes.
Shen Yanzhou slowly closed his eyes.
I hadn't slept long when I was woken up by the cursing outside.
After listening for a while, Shen Yanzhou guessed what his grandmother was cursing.
It's basically cursing whoever burned stalks early in the morning, and the stalk ash even got onto her quilt.
In Xishan Village, there are few sunny days in winter. Whenever the sun comes out, everyone washes and dries things. Few people light a fire, otherwise the things drying in the sun will get dirty.
He suddenly remembered the half-stack of brambles in the woodpile in the kitchen.
Looking down at Yu Pan, who was sleeping like a little pig in his arms, Shen Yanzhou couldn't help but pinch his cheek. "You're so naughty."
Yu Pan didn't know how long he had slept. When he woke up, he saw that the bedroom door was closed and the room was dark, which made him feel a little disoriented and unable to tell what day it was.
So much so that when he pushed open the door and saw Shen Yanzhou sitting in the main room weaving bamboo baskets, he was startled.
Yu Pan glanced at the wall clock. It was three o'clock. Shen Yanzhou shouldn't be home at this time.
As if reading his mind, Shen Yanzhou continued weaving the basket without stopping, and said without looking up, "I said last night that I would take you to the □□ Union when the weather cleared up. Today the weather is clear, so I asked for leave before I finished work at noon."
Yu Pan frowned as he recalled that when Shen Yanzhou spoke to him last night, he was already a little dazed, and it seemed like something had happened.
Shen Yanzhou didn't expect him to remember. He put the things in his hand into the bucket, got up, took off his apron, and pointed to the enamel mug on the table: "Drink some water, then we'll go out later."
Yu Pan nodded, picked up the enamel mug, and took a few sips of water; the water temperature was just right.
-
Although Xishan Village is a village, it is twice the size of the surrounding villages and has a larger population.
A few years ago, a boss took a liking to the empty land in the mountains and built a fireworks and firecracker factory there.
The fireworks factory needed to hire workers, but these days, what decent jobs could people in the village have? As soon as they heard about the job openings, people from several surrounding villages came to come and see.
Once the fireworks factory officially started operations, Xishan Village, being the closest to the factory, became the place where the factory workers would stay.
Many people from other places moved to live nearby with their families, the village roads were gradually widened, and small markets began to appear.
Normally, the market is held on the 15th of the lunar calendar. But now that the Lunar New Year is approaching, people who have gone out to work are starting to rush home, and they don't care about the date anymore. The market stalls are set up every day.
After Yu Pan finished drinking the water, the two brothers took the money and went to [unclear - possibly a gambling website].
Yu Pan doesn't like going out, but when Uncle Shen and the others are around, she will go for a walk with them after dinner.
But since Uncle Shen and the others left, Yu Pan has rarely gone out. Unless Shen Yanzhou takes him, he stays at home tinkering with books.
The afternoon sun in winter was still warm. Yu Pan walked with Chen Yanzhou toward the market. When they reached the intersection, they saw a stall with a shed and Spring Festival couplets hanging all over the side.
The stall owner was still engrossed in writing Spring Festival couplets. When they walked over, he tossed them a message: "Take a look, if you like something, I'll take it off for you."
Yu Pan looked up and carefully examined the hanging Spring Festival couplets. Shen Yanzhou stood beside him. The two of them walked around the stall, but Yu Pan couldn't find what he wanted, so he tugged at Shen Yanzhou's sleeve.
“Boss,” Shen Yanzhou said, “we need to write it on the spot.”
"Add 50 cents for writing it now."
"OK."
The stall owner spread out red paper on the other side of the table, looked up, and asked, "What should I write?"
"Springtime fills the world with blooming flowers, and blessings grace the courtyard with peace and tranquility throughout the four seasons."
Yu Pan tightened his grip on Shen Yanzhou's hand. He had seen this couplet since he first came to the Shen family and continued to see it as he grew up.
When he was a child, he couldn't understand the words on the paper, so he kept pestering Shen Yanzhou, asking him what the two sentences meant.
Shen Yanzhou was only in elementary school at the time, and she told him very frankly.
"When spring arrives and flowers bloom, good fortune descends upon our courtyard, and our family enjoys peace and safety throughout the four seasons."
Yu Pan remembered it well.
-
There was a knock on the door in the courtyard.
Yu Pan peeked through the crack in the door and saw an older woman standing there, holding a bowl of rice in her hands.
He quickly opened the door.
"Is it Yu Pan?" the aunt asked.
Yu Pan nodded.
“I’m from the foot of the mountain. Your brother asked me to bring this food.” The aunt handed over the bowl in her hand.
Yu Pan blinked, then went to the kitchen and brought out a large porcelain bowl. Holding the bowl in one hand, she drew a semicircle between the rice and the empty bowl with the other.
With a very simple gesture, the auntie guessed what he meant, so she poured the food from her bowl over to him.
The aunt looked at the child in front of her. His face was fair and his eyes were round and bright. He looked very endearing. Before leaving, she couldn't help but take a piece of candy out of her pocket and give it to him.
His brother even gave him candy? Yu Pan was a little surprised. He had eaten milk candy a few days ago. Shen Yanzhou usually wouldn't let him eat too much candy.
“Here are some snacks for the kids,” the auntie said with a smile. “You don’t have to take the bowl; your brother was going to bring them to me tomorrow.”
It turns out it wasn't his brother who gave it to him.
Yu Pan shook her head to indicate that she did not want candy, and bowed to the aunt several times to express her gratitude.
After watching the woman walk away, Yu Pan closed the courtyard gate.
Looking at the food in her bowl, Yu Pan knew that, just like last year, Shen Yanzhou would be working long hours from today until New Year's Eve.
I didn't have time to come back at noon, so I had to ask someone to bring me food.
Yu Pan sighed, her hand unconsciously pressing against her stomach.
A familiar, indescribable dullness came from there.
This feeling was neither good nor bad, neither hungry nor full, but it was definitely dragging Shen Yanzhou down.
Thinking of this, Yu Pan felt a surge of anger and punched his stomach hard a few times.
What a useless stomach!
You're so disappointing!
I can't feel whether I'm hungry or full!
Shen Yanzhou is so busy, yet he still has to worry about this!
After venting her frustration with her punches, Yu Pan felt an even deeper sense of powerlessness.
There was really nothing he could do.
When Shen Yanzhou first went to the fireworks factory as an apprentice, Yu Pan also made small items such as bamboo baskets and bamboo cages to sell at the small market.
The villagers basically knew about their family situation. They felt sorry for the two brothers but wouldn't say anything. Sometimes they would even ask Yu Pan to customize bamboo baskets.
But some thugs and hooligans are different. Seeing that he was just a kid setting up a stall and that his business seemed pretty good, they would come to cause trouble.
I bought a bamboo basket, and the next day I demanded compensation from him, saying that all the bamboo baskets he sold were defective, and he wouldn't let me display them unless I paid him back.
People are generally bullies who prey on the weak and fear the strong, and most of them tend to stay out of trouble if it doesn't concern them.
A normal person could argue back against such harassment, but Yu Pan was mute, so he couldn't argue at all. He couldn't give her the money, so he could only give the remaining bamboo baskets to the thugs.
The thug got the bamboo basket and immediately sold it to someone else. He even threatened Yu Pan to weave ten more bamboo baskets for him, saying that if he didn't bring enough next time he went to the market, he would be in big trouble.
When Shen Yanzhou heard about it after work, he went to the thug's house that night with a machete on his back.
After that, Shen Yanzhou stopped him from setting up a street stall and only told him to stay home and study hard. He would send him to school when conditions improved.
Later, conditions really did improve, but Yu Pan was still unable to go to school because he had become deaf.
After being deaf for about two months, Shen Yanzhou took him to all the nearby health clinics. It was unclear which medicine had worked, but Yu Pan's hearing gradually returned.
Finally, Shen Yanzhou went to the school and bought textbooks for him to study at home.
All these things happened in the last two years, but now when Yu Pan looks back, it feels like a lifetime ago.
-
On New Year's Eve, the firecracker factory officially stopped work after finishing that day, and the holiday lasted until the twelfth day of the first lunar month.
The factory provides meals in the afternoon. After eating, Shen Yanzhou washes his rice bowl and puts it back on the shelf where rice bowls are placed in the canteen.
As soon as he stepped out of the canteen, he saw Liu Wei standing at the factory gate, who waved to him.
"Xiao Zhou, I have something to tell you." Liu Wei put his arm around his shoulder and walked to the tree next to the factory. He spoke with a hint of consideration in his voice: "The factory recently built a branch factory in Baixi."
Liu Wei rubbed his hands together and lowered his voice, "They're short of a master craftsman to train apprentices over there to make gunpowder. It's not a big operation, but the wages are thirty more than here. I was thinking... having you go over and fill in for a while."
Shen Yanzhou listened with his eyes downcast, his fingertips stroking the frayed edge of his coat sleeve. This frayed edge was soft and fluffy, and Yu Pan always liked to pinch and play with it.
After Liu Wei finished speaking, he looked up and saw Liu Wei looking away uncomfortably into the distance.
Baixi and Xishan Village are not close to each other, and training apprentices is too time-consuming and laborious, so the experienced workers in the factory all made excuses to decline.
The key issue is that the two places are extremely far apart, taking two days by car. Even if the pay is 30 yuan more, very few experienced drivers are willing to travel that far.
"Yes, Uncle, I'll go." Shen Yanzhou answered readily. "When are you leaving?"
Liu Wei was surprised that Shen Yanzhou agreed so readily. He paused for a moment before laughing, patting Shen Yanzhou on the back and saying, "I knew you were reliable! Just like your dad! Uncle will give you your name right now, you can leave after the Lunar New Year."
Shen Yanzhou nodded, stood under the tree, and watched Liu Wei walk briskly towards the office, his figure quickly disappearing around the corner of the factory.
The mountain wind was freezing. Shen Yanzhou raised his hand and touched the soft fur edge of his sleeve. It had been pinched by Yu Pan for a long time and felt particularly smooth. The tension in his heart slowly eased.
In a daze, Shen Yanzhou recalled the time when his parents had the accident.
He lived in a dormitory during high school, and by the time he heard the news, his parents had already been dead for three days. When he rushed home, all he saw were his parents' bodies, which had just been dug out and were lying on the ground covered with a cloth.
There was also Yu Pan, sitting blankly beside the body.
A neighbor leaned over and whispered to him that Yu Pan hadn't been eating, drinking, sleeping, or talking to anyone for the past few days.
The funeral was completed in silence. On the night of her parents' burial, Yu Pan seemed to come to her senses, hugging him and tears streaming down her face.
In order to give their parents a dignified burial, they had almost used up all their savings. It was at that time that Liu Wei approached him.
It was Liu Wei who led him into the fireworks factory and taught him how to mix gunpowder step by step.
He has to accept this favor.
A note from the author:
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