Rural life
It felt like an eternity before Yu Chunsheng finally returned, carrying a bulging bag that appeared to be wrapped in old newspapers.
The painkillers took effect, and Xu Tangmian's strength gradually returned, finally allowing her to focus on other things.
The two exchanged a glance, and Yu Chunsheng hurriedly looked away, his ears turning bright red as he tossed the object in his hand to her. He then turned and walked out of the bedroom in a clumsy manner.
That's interesting, so very interesting.
Xu Tangmian lowered her head and smiled slightly as she opened the package. Inside were several packs of soft toilet paper and a handmade menstrual belt that appeared to be made of pure cotton.
There wasn't even a proper supply and marketing cooperative in the village; there was only a small shop selling goods brought in from the town's supply and marketing cooperative. Asking a man like him to buy sanitary napkins in such a short time was indeed asking too much.
Although the menstrual belt did not meet Xu Tangmian's expectations, she was still grateful to Yu Chunsheng for his efforts.
She brought in the thermos, quickly washed herself, changed into clean underwear, and used a menstrual belt. After getting dressed, she came out with her dirty clothes.
In the courtyard, Yu Chunsheng was digging soil with a shovel. He was throwing shovelfuls of yellow mud, which he didn't know where he got it from, into a small earthen mound in the center that looked like a small meteorite crater. When it was almost done, he scooped water and stirred it.
Xu Tangmian held the basin and stared at it for a while. Finally, when he stopped and looked at her, she pretended to be calm and asked him, "What are you doing?"
Yu Chunsheng raised his arm to wipe the sweat from his forehead, pointed ahead and chuckled twice: "Build a wall around the courtyard, just to have some privacy."
Xu Tangmian put down the plastic basin and walked over. Following the direction he pointed, she looked around and said with a smile, "Sure, we can get an iron gate later, raise a fish tank here, and plant some roses there."
Yu Chunsheng said, "I want to plant some vegetables here and build a grape trellis over there."
Xu Tangmian: "..."
"How about we each take a step back and plant vegetables here, or grow flowers there?"
Yu Chunsheng grinned, "Okay, whatever you say."
He threw down the shovel and started building the wall again, but after taking only two steps, he seemed to remember something and turned back, hesitatingly saying, "You...are you feeling better now?"
Xu Tangmian nodded, "The pain is gone after taking the painkiller. Thank you."
"You're welcome, it's my duty." Yu Chunsheng replied without giving her any further response and went back to his work.
Xu Tangmian had many questions in her mind, so she asked directly, "Where did you buy these things? Is there a small shop in this village?"
Yu Chunsheng skipped her first question and said, "Go west along the main road ahead, and look to your right. The shop is right there on the side of the road."
Xu Tangmian looked ahead again. Their house was surrounded by wheat fields, and the main road was still some distance away, requiring them to walk along a narrow ridge only one person wide. There was also a dry ditch between the main road and the wheat field, and they had to cross the ditch and pass through a field about a meter wide before reaching the main road.
The dry ditch, as long as the main road, only had a plank erected at one section, not directly in front of the houses but further east; that was built by the fourth team. Riding a bicycle was quite fast, but walking there was still quite a distance.
If they were to take a shortcut… Xu Tangmian’s gaze then turned to the stream behind the kitchen.
Crossing the stream, there's a pebbled path leading straight to the main road ahead.
Yu Chunsheng seemed to have guessed what she was thinking and said directly, "Don't even think about it. There's no bridge over that river, so you can't wade through it now."
He then asked, "What do you want to buy? I'll ride my bike and buy it for you."
He's so kind-hearted, and he'd already seen everything he needed to see, so Xu Tangmian decided to treat him like a male best friend and said directly:
"The thing you lent me is quite well-made, but I'm still not used to using it. I'd like to buy some sanitary napkins. I won't trouble you this time; it's probably embarrassing for a grown man like you to buy this."
Yu Chunsheng blushed again. He turned his head away, seemingly lost in thought, and after a long while, he said softly, "That stuff isn't sold in the village. If you really want it, I'll go back to the commune tomorrow and bring you some."
"That's great!" She remembered that Yu Chunsheng worked at the town's supply and marketing cooperative, where the supply of goods was definitely more plentiful than in the village.
Now that she had learned how to fetch water, she put the stained clothes in a basin to soak, then went to the bicycle shed and sat on the back of his bicycle. Looking at Yu Chunsheng, who was building a wall in front of her, she asked:
"Chunsheng, did you choose this name because you were born in spring?"
Yu Chunsheng nodded casually, "March."
He put down what he was doing to look at her, and teased, "So, was your name given because you were born at four in the morning?"
Xu Tangmian was somewhat surprised, and immediately stood up, confirming with delight: "You've read Kawabata Yasunari's poems? I didn't realize you were such an artsy young man."
Yu Chunsheng didn't react much and went back to work.
After watching for a while, Xu Tangmian got bored. She asked again, "Chunsheng, when is dinner?"
"Hungry?" Yu Chunsheng came back carrying a shovel and a bucket of mud. "I'll cook once I've finished making these mud bricks." He muttered to himself, "I told you to eat yesterday but you wouldn't, and now you're hungry."
"You didn't make breakfast," Xu Tangmian complained again.
“I don’t have the habit of eating breakfast,” he said casually.
“That won’t do. Skipping breakfast will give you a stomachache. Besides, I have a habit of eating breakfast.” Xu Tangmian said with a smile, “Starting tomorrow, you must eat breakfast with me.”
Yu Chunsheng glanced at her but did not refuse.
What would you like to eat for lunch?
"I haven't eaten meat for a month. Can you get me some?" Xu Tangmian said pitifully. "I used to live at school and only had porridge for two meals a day. I think I lost ten pounds."
Yu Chunsheng glanced at her and said, "She is indeed quite thin."
"Right?" Xu Tangmian said with a drooping face. "I really can't stand it anymore. Before, I..." She immediately realized her mistake and quickly shut her mouth.
"What happened before?" Yu Chunsheng asked casually.
"It's nothing," Xu Tangmian chuckled. "I used to be able to eat some meat, but since I came here, I haven't eaten a drop of oil."
Yu Chunsheng gave her a complicated look. "What made you decide to work here? Was it arranged by the organization?"
“Hmm.” Xu Tangmian didn’t know how the original owner got here. She vaguely remembered that the original owner seemed to be an orphan raised by a beggar.
"So, you suddenly got your marriage certificate? Do your parents know?" Yu Chunsheng asked worriedly.
Xu Tangmian suddenly wanted to tease him, "No, I haven't had time to write a letter yet. What, are you afraid they'll beat you up?"
Yu Chunsheng scoffed, "I'm not bad, why should I be afraid of them? Besides, I haven't done anything to wrong you."
That makes sense, but he's way too confident!
Xu Tangmian added, "The supply and marketing cooperative is good, but the women my family introduces to me all work in government agencies, or at the very least, they work in banks."
Yu Chunsheng suddenly became serious, stepped forward, stared at her intently, and said, "Do you think working in a government agency makes you superior?"
Xu Tangmian dared not say it, but her silence represented her stance.
Yu Chunsheng straightened up, put his hands on his hips, and said, "Comrade Xiao Xu, your idea is very dangerous. We are a country where the people are the masters, and government agencies are also there to serve the people."
He waved his hand, guiding her gaze to the distance. "You are right here on a vast land. Can't you see the farmers toiling away every day, yet you elevate those sitting in the office to godlike status?"
“It’s not like I promoted him.” Xu Tangmian realized she couldn’t argue with him, so she retorted, “Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants – it has always been this way since ancient times.”
Yu Chunsheng then patiently explained, "This is precisely the advanced aspect of our great motherland. It has been like this for thousands of years, but this is the first time that the workers and peasants have become the masters of the country."
"And you're lecturing me now?" Xu Tangmian said coldly, "Come talk to me about grand principles when farmers earn more from farming than those office workers!"
After saying that, she went back in a huff.
Through the window, she secretly peeked outside. Seeing that Yu Chunsheng was still looking at her, she quickly pulled her head back in, no longer daring to look.
The more Xu Tangmian thought about it, the angrier she became. She felt that this marriage was still a mistake.
Ironically, she had once considered making the best of a bad situation, thinking that since he seemed alright, she could get along with him.
This guy is such a low-level angry youth, constantly indulging in wishful thinking and getting all smug. For a man, being handsome isn't enough; you have to choose someone with a promising future when you get married.
She's not from this era. She came here without any special abilities or background, so she has to be careful in everything she does. She's already at a disadvantage compared to others, and he's always thinking about things from some unknown dynasty.
If she were to have another child with this man, and spend all her time thinking about being a good wife and mother while he continues to take pride in farming, she would never be able to eat meat in her life.
She thought she still had to leave.
However, her strength alone was limited. In any case, Yu Chunsheng had no intention of overstepping boundaries and was generous, and could take care of her in daily life. Xu Tangmian thought that she would live with him like this for the time being, and take the opportunity to save some money to prepare for returning to Beiping to find her grandfather in the future.
She went back to the wardrobe, where there was a drawer containing some money.
The money wasn't hers; she gave all her salary to the train station.
Yesterday, she asked Yu Chunsheng for some money, citing the reason that "marital property will be divided equally after marriage registration." He was very generous and took out all the money he had on him without saying a word, only taking back a little, saying, "I need to keep some money for emergencies when I'm away from home."
Xu Tangmian counted the money in the wardrobe: fifty-two yuan and sixty-eight fen. A train ticket to Beiping would cost twenty or thirty yuan, not to mention food, clothing, and lodging; it was too tight a budget.
She still needs to earn money.
It seems she can't give up her job as a teacher at the school; she has to start working first in order to go to Beiping.
Thinking about how she had slacked off at work over the past month, Xu Tangmian felt uneasy. She took out her lesson plan from the drawer and began preparing for tomorrow's class.
I don't know how long I wrote, but there was a knock on the door.
Yu Chunsheng called out, "Dinner's ready!" and then pushed open the door. Seeing her working at her desk, Yu Chunsheng suddenly became cautious: "Did I disturb you?"
Xu Tangmian was starving and had been waiting for him to call out, so she didn't care. She shook her head and walked briskly towards the living room, asking as she went, "What are we having for dinner today?"
"Haven't you had meat in a long time?" Yu Chunsheng smiled and added a bowl of rice for her. "Let me be frank, today's meal is already over the limit. Be prepared to go hungry for the next few days."
Xu Tangmian looked at the glistening braised pork on the table, her mouth watering. She didn't care about the future at all. She immediately nodded, "It's okay, just consider it a indulgent meal."
"What is an 'indulgence meal'?" Yu Chunsheng asked, adding another bowl of rice to his plate.
"It's just about losing weight," Xu Tangmian said hastily, swallowing the meat in her mouth. "Starving yourself for a few days and then indulging in a good meal is just being indulgent."
“Really?” Yu Chunsheng said with a smile, “Then hurry up and eat. After you finish, I’ll wash the dishes. You do your work, and I’ll take my ‘indulgent nap’ without disturbing anyone.”
Xu Tangmian asked him, "What are you going to indulge in? Not sleeping tonight?"
Yu Chunsheng nodded. "This house was introduced by a colleague from the supply and marketing cooperative. The owner was a widower with no children. He fell to his death while working on the construction site. His relatives made a huge fuss, and the house and land ended up belonging to the brigade."
“Look at this land, it hasn’t rained for half a month. The wheat has just sprouted and needs watering. People need to use the water bags during the day, so we can only borrow them at night.”
“He has three acres of land.” Yu Chunsheng frowned slightly. “I don’t know how long he’ll be busy tonight.”
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