Chapter 16

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Fu Mingze walked into the educated youth compound just as Zheng Jiamin came out of the kitchen carrying two bowls of vegetable porridge.

“I ladled yours for you. Come on, let’s eat.”

There were two tables in the main room, with the male and female educated youths occupying one each, clearly divided between them.

The moment Zheng Jiamin sat down, he began slurping up his food. Between mouthfuls, he asked, “What did Comrade Shen Mo’er want with you? Since when have the two of you become so close?”

It was no wonder he was curious. Fu Mingze hardly spoke to any of the female educated youths under the same roof, let alone the villagers.

Though everyone appeared to be concentrating on their meals, nearly every person at the tables pricked up their ears.

Fu Mingze acted as if he had noticed nothing. In an even tone, he said, “We’re not close. Her family is building a new house, and she wanted to know how houses are generally built in the big cities.”

“Then she should have come to me! I’m the all-knowing expert on Shanghai’s alleyways. There are plenty of Western-style houses near my home—real fancy ones.” Zheng Jiamin deliberately exaggerated his tone.

Fu Mingze said nothing. He merely gave him a look one might reserve for an idiot.

Zheng Jiamin understood at once. A villager building a house clearly could not use a Western-style mansion as a reference. Still, he could not help asking, “How did Comrade Shen Mo’er’s family suddenly get the money to build a new house?”

Getting back three hundred yuan was hardly something to boast about. The Shen family’s eldest and second branches naturally had no intention of spreading the story, and neither did Shen Mo’er or Shen Shaoyuan. As a result, the matter had not circulated widely in the village. Even Zheng Jiamin, the local busybody, had yet to hear about it.

Zhang Zhiqiang, however, clearly knew. He gave a cold snort and said sarcastically, “How did they suddenly get rich? They extorted it back from Shen Lingling and her uncle’s family, of course.”

Fu Mingze set down his chopsticks and glanced at Zhang Zhiqiang.

“Is asking relatives who occupied your family’s house to pay you money considered extortion?”

Zhang Zhiqiang was instantly rendered speechless.

He knew that Shen Mo’er’s family had the stronger case, but people naturally had their preferences. Shen Lingling had complained to him that she would now have to give her family an extra three yuan every month, so of course he felt more sympathy for her.

Fu Mingze paid no attention to Zhang Zhiqiang’s reaction. He spread open the handkerchief beside him and took out two eggs. He handed one to Zheng Jiamin.

“A thank-you gift from Comrade Shen. They were boiled and are still warm.”

Then he cracked his own egg and began eating.

Zheng Jiamin came from a worker’s family and lived fairly comfortably. His family often sent him parcels, and whenever he received anything good, he usually shared it with Fu Mingze. Because of various considerations, Fu Mingze rarely had a chance to return the favor openly.

He certainly had no reason to refuse a single egg. With a grin, Zheng Jiamin took it, cracked the shell, and began eating.

“Two eggs for such a small favor, and she even had them boiled for you? Comrade Shen Mo’er is quite something!”

Fu Mingze paused, the corners of his lips curving faintly.

In those days, eggs were a precious source of nutrition. Though many farm families in the brigade kept chickens, and obtaining eggs was actually easier than in the cities, few people were truly willing to exchange money or goods for them. Thus, opportunities to eat eggs were rare.

Plain boiled eggs had no particularly strong aroma, yet the male educated youths at the table somehow imagined they could smell the fresh, rich scent of tender egg white. They could not help swallowing discreetly.

Even the female educated youths at the other table cast covert glances in their direction.

Zhang Zhiqiang was sitting right beside Zheng Jiamin. The sight of him wolfing down his egg made Zhang’s eyes ache with irritation. He gulped down his porridge in two or three mouthfuls and strode away.

Zheng Jiamin raised his brows smugly at Fu Mingze.

Since the eggs were already boiled, they could easily have hidden somewhere and eaten them in secret. Fu Mingze had brought them out at that particular moment precisely to needle Zhang Zhiqiang.

He understood perfectly.

After dinner, Fu Mingze fetched water, wiped himself down, and changed his clothes. Just as he was about to take the dirty ones out to wash, he reached beneath the bunk bed for the soap.

One look at it nearly made him laugh with rage.

The bar of soap he had bought only a few days earlier had been broken away piece by piece. More than half was gone, leaving only a short stub.

Zheng Jiamin leaned over to look. Furious, he immediately began cursing.

“Which shameless bastard stole Fu Mingze’s soap? And look at that—he even left him a little piece! What is this, does he think he’s a thief with principles?”

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All the male educated youths were present. They exchanged uneasy glances, afraid to speak too quickly and be mistaken for the thief.

Zhang Zhiqiang sat on the edge of the bed and made a few sarcastic remarks.

“Who would steal Fu Mingze’s things? Is there anyone here poorer than him?”

Zheng Jiamin flew into a rage.

“It was brand-new, a whole bar of soap! I got the soap coupon from my own supply. Do you think I wouldn’t know? A thief has appeared in the educated youth compound, and instead of investigating, you’re standing there sneering and making snide comments. Zhang Zhiqiang, you bastard—what kind of compound leader are you?”

Zhang Zhiqiang had always found Fu Mingze irritating, and he had instinctively taken pleasure in his misfortune. Only after Zheng Jiamin’s tirade did he realize that the other man was right. Something had gone missing from the compound, and as its leader, he was responsible.

He put on his shoes and hurried outside.

“I’m going to find the brigade chief.”

Before long, Zhou Mancang was summoned. But seven people lived in the room, coming and going all day. How could anyone possibly investigate the disappearance of half a bar of soap?

As expected, the matter eventually came to nothing.

Zheng Jiamin was angrier than if he had lost something himself. His cheeks flushed red as he stood there fuming and declared that if he ever caught the thief, he would beat him so badly that even his own parents would not recognize him.

Fu Mingze patted him on the shoulder, signaling that he need not say anything more, then took his enamel basin and went outside.

* * *

News that half a bar of soap had gone missing from the educated youth compound quickly spread throughout the village. The villagers had nothing better to do, so naturally they gathered to whisper about it.

Who would have thought that even these educated youths from the city could have thieves among them? What a curiosity!

Even Shen Mo’er heard about it from Auntie Chen. The most handsome educated youth in the compound, Comrade Fu, had had most of a newly purchased bar of soap secretly broken off. Then, the very next day, the soap disappeared from several households in the village.

The daughters of those families had taken it to the educated youth compound.

If Comrade Fu had not refused to accept it, and if the girls had not taken the soap back home, no one knew how long the dispute over the missing soap might have continued.

Shen Mo’er had not paid much attention to the matter before. It was only after hearing Auntie Chen talk about it that she learned that, although Comrade Fu rarely paid anyone much attention, he was extremely popular among the village women.

The older women simply thought the young man was handsome. As for the younger girls, quite a few had begun to develop tender feelings and occasionally tried to curry favor with him.

When Shen Mo’er recalled Comrade Fu’s appearance, she found the girls’ feelings quite understandable.

However, the soap incident was soon overshadowed by something else.

It began when Shen Mo’er asked Auntie Chen, Auntie Cai, and several other warmhearted village matrons to help search for stones suitable for laying a foundation and timber thick enough to serve as roof beams.

That caused quite a stir. Only then did the villagers discover that Old Seventh Shen’s family was actually going to build a new house!

Then they quickly learned that the new house was not merely a new house. It was going to be a green-brick house with a tiled roof!

Many people could not understand it. Even if the eldest and second branches had compensated them, should a family that had nearly starved to death not have taken the opportunity to save some money? Why were they spending so freely on a green-brick, tiled-roof house?

There were only a father and daughter. Their current house was more than large enough for them. Even if they truly wanted another room, could they not have built a mud-brick house? The difference in cost was enormous!

Then, very soon, people heard that Shen Shaoyuan had taken a temporary job at the commune kiln. The kiln’s leaders had approved a special note for him, allowing him to purchase bricks and tiles at factory-gate prices.

For a while, the villagers could not decide whether it was more astonishing that Old Seventh Shen could obtain bricks and tiles at factory prices, or that he had managed to get a temporary job at the commune kiln.

Quite a few people belatedly realized that, come to think of it, they had not seen Shen Shaoyuan working in the fields for some time.

The weather had grown hotter by the day, and the work hours had steadily shortened. Besides, Old Seventh Shen had always been such an inconspicuous man that no one had really paid attention to him before.

Work at a kiln was nothing more than digging earth, mixing clay, firing bricks, and carrying them—hard labor from beginning to end. It was exhausting, but the workers’ benefits were good. Even as a temporary worker, he could receive wages and festival benefits. Compared with laboring under the open sky for work points, it was far better than spending one’s days bent over the earth.

Besides, many people felt that Old Seventh Shen looked as though a gust of wind might knock him over. When it came to physical labor, they were all certain they could outdo him.

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Thus, some people went to Zhou Mancang to ask how Old Seventh Shen had gotten into the kiln and what sort of work he did there.

At first, Shen Shaoyuan had merely gone to the kiln to help out, which required him to request leave from the brigade. After he had worked there for several days, Xu Weiguo had secured him one of the temporary-worker positions. That required the brigade to complete the necessary paperwork as well.

So Zhou Mancang genuinely knew how Shen Shaoyuan had entered the kiln and what work he was doing.

“What is it? Every one of you wants to go to the kiln and become workers now?”

Zhou Mancang glared at the group, his voice booming like thunder.

“He’s in the publicity section, writing slogans and drawing posters for the kiln. Can any of you do that? Honestly, you don’t even know your own limitations!”

The villagers were stunned yet again.

“What? Old Seventh Shen can write slogans and draw posters?”

“Wait, doesn’t he only have an elementary school education? He can barely recognize a few characters. Would the kiln really hire him specifically to write and draw?”

Zhou Mancang said, “He only has an elementary school education, but his wife is well educated. I hear she can write and draw. He learned from her.”

The villagers stood open-mouthed.

Now that they thought about it, some of the older people did have a vague impression that Old Seventh Shen’s wife, who had come as a refugee, was indeed quite well educated. She spoke and carried herself with refinement. For a time, she had even seemed to be teaching the village children to recite poems.

Neither husband nor wife was particularly outgoing. Most of the time, they stayed at home together. It was not at all impossible that Old Seventh Shen had learned to write and draw from his wife.

Besides, the villagers were not especially familiar with him. If he had been secretly studying all these years, no one could confidently say that such a thing was impossible.

So Old Seventh Shen had become a worker, and his family was going to build a green-brick house with a tiled roof?

Seen in that light, the matter of his daughter taking a husband into the family suddenly did not seem quite so unacceptable.

After years of keeping a low profile, Old Seventh Shen and his daughter had become the talk of Willow Tree Brigade. The news even showed signs of spreading to the surrounding villages.

Then, very soon, the negative consequences arrived.

That night, Shen Mo’er drank too much water before bed and woke in the middle of the night. She had just come out of her treasure vault when she heard a faint sound outside.

Her drowsiness vanished at once. Shen Mo’er quietly crept toward the door and indeed heard movement on the other side.

She crouched beside the door and waited for a while. Slowly, a thin strip of metal slid through the crack. It pressed lightly against the door bolt, nudging it open bit by bit.

In the darkness, Shen Mo’er raised her brows and shifted slightly to one side.

At almost the same moment, accompanied by the faintest creak, the door began to open, and a figure darted in from outside—

No, he did not quite make it inside. The instant he tried to leap through the doorway, Shen Mo’er lowered her body and kicked out with all her strength.

Bang!

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