Chapter 5 Chapter 5 Not Afraid
Chapter 5
Before the fireworks factory shut down, it would settle all wages. When Shen Yanzhou arrived at the office, the line was already very long.
After waiting for about half an hour, it was Shen Yanzhou's turn.
Accountant Zhang handed over the banknotes, divided into three portions, and the envelope containing the money. "Xiao Shen, count them carefully. Monthly salary is seventy, overtime for ten days is twenty, and the job risk allowance is one hundred and ninety, for a total of two hundred and eighty."
This is a standard procedure; everyone does it this way. When money is involved, it's not good for either party if things aren't clearly defined.
Shen Yanzhou twirled the banknotes between his fingers, counted them again in front of Old Zhang, and after confirming that there were no discrepancies, he stuffed the money into the envelope and kept it close to his body. "Nothing is missing, thank you Uncle Zhang."
As I stepped out of the factory gate, the setting sun hung obliquely on the mountain peaks, and the mountain wind, carrying a chill, seeped into my bones.
Shen Yanzhou quickened his pace, but when he pushed open his own faded wooden door, he suddenly stopped, and the corners of his mouth curved into an almost imperceptible smile.
Yu Pan was squatting by the courtyard wall, with two speckled chickens in front of her. There were originally three, but one of them was killed and used to make soup on the eve of the Lunar New Year.
The chickens were now enclosed by a bamboo fence at the base of the wall. One of them was pecking at the fence with its neck outstretched. Yu Pan stared at it, then suddenly raised her hand and tapped the fence twice with her knuckles.
The chicken was startled and shrank its neck, taking a half step back. Yu Pan curled her lips into a smirk, revealing a triumphant smile.
Hearing the door open, Yu Pan looked up sharply and saw it was Shen Yanzhou. He stood up and quickly gestured with his hands:
"Brother! I just boiled a pot of water! It's piping hot!"
Shen Yanzhou didn't move. He walked a few steps to him, raised his hand and placed it on his forehead. The temperature from his palm was normal. He gently pressed his fingertips on Yu Pan's temples before speaking: "Are you still feeling unwell? Are you dizzy?"
Yu Pan didn't dodge. Just as Shen Yanzhou was about to stop, she rubbed her forehead against the back of his hand and shook her head, gesturing, "I'm not dizzy anymore. I drank a lot of hot water after I woke up. I even emptied the kettle."
Shen Yanzhou hummed in agreement, took off his dusty coat and hung it on a hook in the main room, then rolled up his sleeves and headed straight for the kitchen.
Yu Pan followed, took out a rough porcelain bowl from the cupboard, and scooped a small spoonful of salt from the stove.
This is used to collect chicken blood.
Killing a chicken to worship the gods on New Year's Eve is an old custom that has been passed down for generations in Xishan Village.
Shen Yanzhou originally planned to kill and stew the chicken before going to work, but when he woke up in the morning, Yu Pan in his arms was as hot as a furnace.
He touched his forehead, and the warmth from the back of his hand made his heart tighten.
I took out my thermometer and measured my temperature. It was 38.7 degrees Celsius.
Yu Pan often catches colds and fevers in winter. He's fine before bed but gets delirious with fever in the morning, so he always keeps fever-reducing medicine on hand.
Shen Yanzhou coaxed him to take his medicine, and then fed him a cup of hot water every now and then. By the time Yu Pan's temperature had gone down, it was time for him to go to work.
He tucked the blanket around Yu Pan on the bed, told him to drink more water, and then hurried off to the factory.
In winter, it gets dark early; the sun sets before five o'clock, and the sky suddenly darkens.
Most families in the village have already finished worshipping the gods, and now they are either eating their New Year's Eve dinner or busy preparing it around the stove.
The Spring Festival is the liveliest time in Xishan Village. People who went out to work return, sitting on benches and chatting at their doorsteps with fire baskets in their arms. Children run around the village with firecrackers in their hands, and dogs bark all day long.
Shen Yanzhou came out of the kitchen, holding a gleaming kitchen knife in his hand, with Yu Pan following behind him carrying a bowl.
As Shen Yanzhou held down the struggling chicken with one hand and raised the knife with the other, Yu Pan immediately brought the bowl to the chicken's neck.
Warm chicken blood gushed into the porcelain bowl, carrying a strong smell of rust. Yu Pan held the bowl steadily.
He held his breath, his eyelashes trembled, and he turned his face slightly away, but his eyes still couldn't help glancing at the bowl.
Shen Yanzhou put the slaughtered chicken into hot water to scald its feathers, and Yu Pan moved a small stool to sit down, holding the tweezers for plucking feathers in her hand and waiting.
The dim light from the kitchen cast long shadows of the two people on the muddy ground in the yard, their heads touching and their legs close together.
Shen Yanzhou had a strong grip and wasn't afraid of getting burned; he simply ripped off the coarse hairs with his bare hands, his movements swift and efficient. Yu Pan, holding the tweezers, carefully plucked the fine downy hairs.
Occasionally, when Yu Pan encountered a stubborn little hair that she couldn't pull out, Shen Yanzhou would take the tweezers and twist it with his fingertips to pluck the hair off.
By the time the chicken was finished, it was completely dark.
He put the whole chicken, with its internal organs removed, into an iron pot to stew. Then, Shen Yanzhou lit another stove, grabbed a handful of glutinous rice flour, added water, stirred it well, and started to cook the paste for pasting Spring Festival couplets.
Yu Pan sat in front of the stove, staring blankly at the leaping flames.
He held a thin piece of firewood in his hand and unconsciously poked it into the stove. Sparks crackled and popped, casting flickering light on Yu Pan's face.
Outside, there was a bustling noise; inside, the two of them were busy. Another year had passed.
The square table that was usually used for meals was moved by Shen Yanzhou to a position directly opposite the main entrance and became a temporary offering table.
The stewed chicken was placed in an iron pot, incense and candles were lit, and five bowls of glutinous rice, three teacups, and five wine cups were arranged in order. At this moment, sporadic firecrackers could be heard outside, crackling and popping.
Yu Pan picked up the wine pot and carefully poured the wine into the wine cup half full.
Shen Yanzhou stood in front of the offering table, his hands clasped together, his eyes lowered, his voice low but clear: "Dad, Mom, it's New Year's. Everything is fine at home, and Panpan and I are doing well too. Today we stewed chicken and steamed glutinous rice, you... have some."
Yu Pan stood beside him, and like Shen Yanzhou, she clasped her hands together and closed her eyes devoutly.
Unable to speak, he could only silently repeat in his heart, "My brother and I... miss you both so much."
Yu Pan suddenly felt a stinging sensation in her nose, and blinked hard to suppress the urge.
He remembered the day Uncle Shen and Aunt Shen carried him back; it was raining heavily.
When Uncle Shen picked him up from the thatched shed, he was covered in dirt and smelled of rain and mud.
He remembered Aunt Shen wiping his face clean with a warm towel and smiling as she said he was really handsome.
And then there was the steaming bowl of sweet potato porridge that Shen Yanzhou served him, sweetened as if with sugar—the sweetest thing he had ever eaten.
The room was very quiet, with only the faint crackling of incense and candles burning.
After a while, Shen Yanzhou opened his eyes first, filled the tea and wine, burned paper money, and lit firecrackers. The air was filled with a strong smell of gunpowder, which made people's noses itch. Yu Pan couldn't help but sneeze twice.
After closing the door, Shen Yanzhou removed the chicken from the offering table, chopped it into pieces, stir-fried it in the wok, and also stir-fried a plate of green vegetables.
The couple's New Year's Eve dinner was laid out on the table in the main room, consisting of one meat dish and one vegetable dish, along with two bowls of glutinous rice, all steaming hot.
After finishing their meal, they started putting up Spring Festival couplets. Shen Yanzhou stood on the ladder, while Yu Pan held him up from below, and together they carefully pasted the red couplets with black characters on a black background.
After taking a shower, Yu Pan stood in front of the bookshelf and picked out a book.
During dinner, Shen Yanzhou said he would read with him that evening, and Yu Pan specifically wanted to choose a book that she didn't quite understand.
Before he could make a choice, Shen Yanzhou came out after taking a shower, holding an envelope in his hand and handed it to him.
Yu Pan's eyes suddenly lit up. She pulled a small wooden box from under the bed, took off her shoes, and climbed onto the bed.
The wooden box was made for him by Aunt Shen before she passed away, and the crooked "hope" character on the lid was carved by himself.
Yu Pan pushed the blanket aside, sat cross-legged, and looked as serious as if she were doing something important.
He first dumped all the money from the wooden box onto the bed, then carefully took the money out of the envelope.
Then they were sorted into categories: ten-yuan notes were placed in one place, five-yuan notes in another, and two-yuan and one-yuan notes were placed in yet another, strictly following the order of new and old.
The loose change was poured into a small wallet, which was kept for buying salt and soy sauce.
Shen Yanzhou sat on the edge of the bed, quietly watching him count.
Yu Pan counted the not-so-thick stack of money twice, and after confirming that she hadn't miscounted, she almost jumped out of bed.
"Five hundred! A full five hundred yuan!" Yu Panchao gestured vigorously at Chen Yanzhou, then buried his face in the money and rubbed it against it.
"Dirty." Shen Yanzhou pinched his cheek, her tone tinged with helplessness. "Little money-grubber."
Yu Pan smiled, her eyes crinkling, and retorted with gestures: "I'm just a little money-grubber."
Then he pointed to the money on the bed and said, "This is the first time I've ever seen so much money, and it's our money."
Five hundred yuan is a huge sum of money for them.
Looking at Yu Pan's happy expression, Shen Yanzhou felt a sudden, sharp pain in his heart, a mixture of sourness and throbbing.
He raised his hand and ruffled Yu Pan's hair, his voice deepening: "Panpan, there's something I want to tell you."
Seeing his serious expression, Yu Pan carefully stacked the money and put it into the wooden box. She even smoothed out the edges with her fingers before leaning against the headboard next to Shen Yanzhou, resting her head on his shoulder and looking at him intently.
“Uncle Liu told me today,” Shen Yanzhou said carefully, speaking slowly, “that the factory is opening a new branch in Baixi Town and they need a mentor to train apprentices. They wanted me to go there, and I agreed.”
Yu Pan's eyes widened slightly, and her fingers unconsciously gripped Shen Yanzhou's sleeve, her gestures revealing a hint of panic, "Aren't you taking me with you?"
"Of course I'll take you." Shen Yanzhou paused, about to gesture to ask if he was willing, when Yu Pan slapped his hand away, her eyes wide. "I'll definitely go with you. You want to leave me here?"
Before Shen Yanzhou could even speak, he saw Yu Pan gesturing to herself: "Brother, I'll die very quickly if you're not here."
"What nonsense are you spouting during the New Year?" Shen Yanzhou grabbed his fingers and made him spit three times into the air.
After Yu Pan obediently finished spitting out the insult, she clung to Shen Yanzhou's arm and wouldn't let go, rubbing her head against his shoulder. In short, she was saying, "Wherever you go, I'll go. Don't even think about getting rid of me."
The two embraced quietly. Shen Yanzhou looked down and could see the small shadow cast by Yu Pan's eyelashes under her eyes. "Panpan, is there anything you want to ask?"
Yu Pan tilted her head, thought for a while, and seemed to finally think of something, so she gestured: "Baixi Town, is it far? Is it as far as our village is from the town?"
"Yes, it's quite far." Shen Yanzhou nodded. "I heard it takes two days by car."
Yu Pan made an "oh" gesture and then fell silent.
He was just twisting the hem of Shen Yanzhou's clothes with his fingers; it was a habit of his when he was thinking, he always had something to play with in his hands.
His question was simple: how far was it if his village was an hour and a half walk from the nearest town, or two days by car? He had no idea and couldn't figure it out.
After all, he had never been to very far places, but he thought it would be a very long journey.
"Panpan, are you scared?" Shen Yanzhou's voice was very soft, with a hint of probing that was barely perceptible.
Yu Pan immediately straightened up and shook her head vigorously.
He looked into Shen Yanzhou's eyes and gestured, word by word, "With you here, I'm not afraid."
After gesturing, he paused, as if afraid that Shen Yanzhou wouldn't believe him, and then gestured again, patting his chest, "As long as you're here, I'm not afraid. As long as I'm here, you don't need to be afraid either."
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