Chapter 9 Red Mark
Chapter 9
When Shen Yanzhou woke up again, the sun was high in the sky.
He closed his eyes and reached out to touch the space beside him; it was empty.
When I sat up, I saw Yu Pan squatting by the bed, staring intently at the bottom of the bed with her brows furrowed.
"What are you looking for?" Shen Yanzhou's voice was hoarse from just waking up.
Yu Pan looked up; the red rash on her face was still there, making her look rather pitiful.
He pointed under the bed, then to his cheek, gesturing, "Looking for bugs."
Shen Yanzhou composed himself, avoiding the red marks, and gently pinched the back of Yu Pan's neck. "Don't be afraid, it's not a bug."
"What is that?" Yu Pan looked up at him, her eyes wide open.
Shen Yanzhou's gaze fell on Yu Panying's fair earlobe, and he tried to make his tone sound natural: "The new bedding hasn't been aired out, so I'm afraid it might cause a bit of an allergic reaction."
Yu Pan frowned, clearly not believing it. He stood up and reached out to touch Chen Yanzhou's neck, then pulled open his collar to look. There wasn't even a red spot, let alone a rash. He asked in confusion, "Then why aren't you allergic?"
“Brother is tough and thick-skinned.” Shen Yanzhou grabbed his hand. “Brother will take the bedding out to air it in the sun. It will be fine after being dried in the sun.”
As he spoke, he threw off the covers and got out of bed. He moved quickly, tossing the covers over and folding them as he walked downstairs.
There's a small courtyard downstairs with a few drying racks. Yesterday, the landlady said they were set up specifically for them to dry their things.
Shen Yanzhou draped the bedding over the bed and stared blankly at the wrinkles in the sheets for a while.
When he returned to the room, Yu Pan squatted by the bed again, looking at the seams of the bed; he had even lifted up the mat.
"Stop looking, where did these bugs come from?" Shen Yanzhou walked over and helped the person up.
Yu Pan was still worried, so she pulled Shen Yanzhou's hand to press it against her neck, and then gestured, "Look, it really doesn't seem like an allergy. I feel a little pain."
Shen Yanzhou cleared his throat. "Let's try applying some ointment."
After saying that, he took out the ointment he had brought, squeezed some onto his fingertip, and carefully applied it to the red marks.
The ointment felt cool and refreshing, and Yu Pan squinted her eyes comfortably, like a contented kitten.
Shen Yanzhou's heart pounded again, but he dared not stop his hands, his fingertips avoiding the most obvious marks, only gently circling around the edges.
"Alright," he said, withdrawing his hand and placing the ointment on the table. "I'm going to the factory to check on things. Don't scratch it at home. If it hurts, just apply some ointment."
Yu Pan nodded, watching Shen Yanzhou put on his coat and walk out. Suddenly remembering something, she chased after him, tugged at his sleeve, and pointed to her face, asking, "Am I ugly like this?"
The red marks on his face looked a bit like mosquito bites, not very noticeable unless you looked closely. Shen Yanzhou smiled and pinched his cheek: "Not ugly, handsome."
After Shen Yanzhou's figure disappeared at the top of the stairs, Yu Pan ran to the mirror and looked at the red marks in the mirror with worry.
He touched his collarbone, then his face, and felt that something was wrong.
But since Shen Yanzhou said it was an allergy, then it must be an allergy, Yu Pan put the matter out of her mind and turned to get the story magazine she had been reading last night.
Shen Yanzhou only went to check the distance from the town to the factory. After walking back and forth, he had a general idea of the route.
In the following days, Shen Yanzhou took Yu Pan around Baixi Town, and on the nineteenth day of the first lunar month, they went to the factory to report for duty.
At six o'clock in the morning, Shen Yanzhou set his alarm and got up. Yu Pan rubbed her eyes and groggily tried to get up too.
"Sleep a little longer, breakfast hasn't been cooked yet." Shen Yanzhou pressed him down.
Yu Pan blinked slowly and fell asleep again.
While eating breakfast, Shen Yanzhou said, "I won't be back for lunch today. I ordered a boxed lunch for you from the same restaurant where we ate lunch yesterday. The owner will deliver it downstairs at noon. Go down and pick it up."
Yu Pan nodded, still remembering the vomiting incident from a few days ago, and gestured, "I won't eat much."
Shen Yanzhou smiled and patted his head. "Brother believes you."
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The new factory is located in the mountains, and Chen Yanzhou walked along the mountain road for more than an hour.
The factory is several times larger than the old factory in Xishan Village. Several rows of red brick buildings spread out along the mountainside, and you can see the drying racks in the distance.
The person in charge, Li Baoshan, was a short, stout middle-aged man who led Shen Yanzhou toward the dispensing room.
Five young people in blue overalls stood at the entrance of the dispensing room. They stood straight up when they saw people, their eyes showing restraint.
"These are the new apprentices. They've learned the theory, but they lack practical experience." Li Baoshan chuckled and patted Shen Yanzhou on the shoulder, lowering his voice, "You have your certification, right?"
Shen Yanzhou nodded.
In Xishan Village's fireworks factory, there are plenty of people who start operating without a license, but because the location is remote and they've bribed the right people, no one takes it seriously.
Li Baoshan made a zipping motion, a shrewd glint in his eyes, "You'd better keep your mouth shut."
"I know."
As soon as Li Baoshan left, Shen Yanzhou changed into his work clothes and led five apprentices to learn about medicines, explaining everything in detail, from the color of saltpeter to the purity of sulfur.
The apprentices listened attentively, and he patiently answered any questions they asked.
The morning passed quickly. Shen Yanzhou went to the water room to get some water and remembered that Yu Pan should be eating by now. He thought about the restaurant he took him to yesterday and saw that Yu Pan seemed to enjoy it.
The problem is that Yu Pan likes to eat everything and will not refuse any food offered to her...
Yu Pan is indeed open to all kinds of food and is not picky about food at all.
When he received the lunchbox at noon, there was a generous amount inside. He quickly divided the food and rice into two portions, putting one portion in a bowl and placing it in the pot so that it would be out of sight of him.
When Shen Yanzhou comes back in the evening, we can just heat it up and it will be dinner.
After finishing his meal, he sat on the bench in the living room reading a book, but his ears were constantly being drawn to the noises downstairs.
The morning market hadn't closed yet, and the vegetable vendor and the tofu vendor were arguing, their voices so shrill they could pierce through the floorboards.
"Your tofu is all water!"
"I haven't even mentioned that your vegetables are made from vegetable roots and you're still selling them at such a high price!"
Whatever the details, like who got married, how much the bride price was, how many tables were set up for the wedding banquet, what the new bride's personality was like, and whether she was good-looking.
Which shops sell good quality and affordable soy sauce and vinegar? What dish did I make yesterday that my kids devoured?
Yu Pan listened with his chin in his hand. He suddenly remembered that he and Shen Yanzhou had never fought over food since they were children.
When he was first brought back, Uncle Shen and Aunt Shen were always worried that he wouldn't have enough to eat. Later, they were worried that he would eat too much and hurt his spleen and stomach, so they paid close attention to him at every meal.
At that time, their family was relatively well-off, and they often ate pork.
Once, Aunt Shen learned a new dish called braised pork. The glistening chunks of pork lay on the plate, and the aroma was so enticing that Yu Pan would circle the stove three times.
When it was time to eat, Yu Pan ate the pork skin in small bites, but her eyes were glued to Shen Yanzhou's bowl.
The piece in Shen Yanzhou's bowl was a perfect mix of lean and fatty meat, and it looked very tender.
As if he had eyes in the top of his head, Shen Yanzhou picked up the piece of meat and placed it steadily into his bowl. "Eat it. I don't like fatty meat."
But Yu Pan knew that it wasn't that Shen Yanzhou didn't like to eat; the cured meat that Uncle Shen brought back a few days ago was all marbled with fat and lean meat, and they ate it with great relish.
But he didn't say anything, he just pretended to eat his rice for a while, and then put the braised pork back.
This gesture delighted Uncle Shen and Aunt Shen.
As he pondered this, he couldn't help but write in his notebook: "I heard someone say today that Wang Douzi's soy sauce on East Street is the best."
After writing it, I felt it was wrong, so I crossed it out and rewrote it: "The aunties downstairs are arguing, like Grandma and Chen Mazi bickering."
Chen Mazi lived diagonally opposite their house. Grandma expanded her courtyard wall and encroached on their vegetable garden, causing them to quarrel every day.
He swore it wasn't intentional eavesdropping, but rather that they weren't keeping their voices down, and the sound of their gossip just kept getting into his ears.
As I was writing, there was a knock on the door.
Could it be that my brother is back?!
Yu Pan excitedly went to open the door and saw the landlady holding a bowl with steaming pumpkin puree inside.
"Xiao Pan, this is freshly steamed, would you like to try it?" The old lady smiled kindly.
Yu Pan quickly shook her head and waved her hands. Shen Yanzhou had said that one should not eat things given by others casually, or one might be taken away by a kidnapper.
The old lady shoved the bowl into his hands without a word, saying, "Just one spoonful, taste it and see if it's sweet."
Yu Pan frowned in confusion. The pumpkin smelled wonderful, reminding him of the pumpkin pancakes Aunt Shen used to make, which tasted just like that.
Seeing his hesitation, the old lady continued, "Look, it's just a little bit. I accidentally steamed too much. If you don't want it, Xiaopan, I'll have to feed it to the chickens..."
In the end, Yu Pan couldn't resist the temptation and convinced himself that the landlady wasn't a kidnapper and wouldn't take him away, so he took a small sip of pumpkin puree.
The pumpkin puree is very fragrant, with a natural sweetness.
"Is it good?" The old lady looked at him. "Your brother wasn't home for lunch, so it must have been lonely for you to eat alone. If you don't mind, you can join me for lunch sometime."
Yu Pan was stunned, and almost dropped the bowl in her hand.
The old lady sighed, "My son and daughter are both living in other places, and I'm all alone at home. I don't have the energy to cook. If you eat with me, I can cook a couple more dishes."
Yu Pan didn't agree immediately, but handed the clean, empty bowl back and bowed deeply to the old lady.
When Shen Yanzhou returned in the evening, Yu Pan tugged at his sleeve and gestured back what the old lady had said, then added, "The pumpkin puree is delicious."
Looking at his expression, Shen Yanzhou's heart softened.
He knew Yu Pan; he was shy and would never eat food given to him by others.
“I’ll talk to the old lady tomorrow,” Shen Yanzhou ruffled his hair, “but we can’t eat for free, we have to pay for the meal.”
Yu Pan nodded emphatically, then ran to the cupboard and took out the leftover food from lunch, gesturing: "See, I didn't eat much."
Shen Yanzhou put his arm around his waist, "Panpan is such a good girl."
As night deepened, after taking a shower, Shen Yanzhou leaned against the headboard and began writing in a notebook.
Yu Pan was reading next to Shen Yanzhou when she suddenly nudged Shen Yanzhou's arm and pointed to her neck, saying, "The rash is almost gone!"
Shen Yanzhou looked down and saw that it was indeed so faint that it was almost invisible.
“From now on, when you put on a new quilt, you have to air it out for a few days first.” Yu Pan gestured seriously, as if she had summarized some kind of truth.
Shen Yanzhou chuckled softly and kissed the top of his head. "Okay, I'll listen to you."
At ten o'clock sharp, Shen Yanzhou asked Yu Pan to give him the book, saying it was time to go to sleep.
Yu Pan obediently handed the book in her hand to Shen Yanzhou, turned over and yawned.
Shen Yanzhou put the book away and pulled the light cord.
Yu Pan nestled next to Shen Yanzhou, burying her face in his arm, and quickly fell asleep.
A note from the author:
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