After all, they were relatives. Yu Nian’an still gave him some face. Once Yu Dingguo came out, she called him aside.
“Two hundred yuan. I’ll give you three days to scrape it together.”
Hearing this, Yu Dingguo froze, unable to process what she meant for a moment.
With the aunt over there casting glances at them from time to time, Yu Nian’an saw his lack of reaction and couldn’t be bothered to waste any more words on him.
“If you don’t return the money you swindled from me within three days, I’ll go to the commune and report you for hooliganism. We’ll go down together either both ruined or neither!”
When Yu Dingguo went to see Yu Nian’an in the past, there had been several times when passing villagers had seen them. If this really made it to the commune, there would be plenty to talk about.
And in these times, a hooliganism charge could get you a firing squad.
She was betting on Yu Dingguo being afraid of death.
“Nian’an, what’s gotten into you today?”
Yu Dingguo thought she was joking and didn’t take it seriously.
“Two days.”
Seeing that he still had this attitude, Yu Nian’an couldn’t be bothered to argue. “If you still don’t agree, I’ll go to the commune in two days.”
“Nian’an, you”
“Tomorrow.”
As she said that, Yu Nian’an even took the time to give the aunt over there a reassuring smile. Seeing that Yu Dingguo still hadn’t made up his mind, she turned to leave.
Realizing she was serious, panic rose in Yu Dingguo’s heart. He hurriedly grabbed her. “Nian’an, Nian’an, don’t make trouble. I’m begging you. From now on, I’ll come see you every single day.”
Clearly, Yu Dingguo chalked all of this up to the fact that he hadn’t gone to see her these past few days.
Yu Nian’an let out a scornful laugh, shot him a look, and pulled her hand back.
“You can come see me if you like just remember to bring the money.”
Every sentence came back to money. Yu Dingguo was furious, lowering his voice as he snapped, “Where am I supposed to scrape together that much cash for you?!”
“I don’t care if you steal it, rob it, or swindle your own mother. If I don’t see the money tomorrow, then we’ll meet at the commune!”
With that, Yu Nian’an waved to her aunt and turned to leave.
After she’d gone some distance, the aunt walked over with a worried expression. “Son, could it be she’s angry because you haven’t fixed her gate yet?”
Yu Dingguo didn’t answer. He stared fixedly in the direction Yu Nian’an had left. After a long while, he finally let out a heavy breath.
“It’s nothing, Mom. I’m heading out for a bit.”
The aunt nodded and went back to hanging clothes on the rack.
At that moment, Yu Nian’an’s stomach let out a protesting growl. True enough since waking up, this body hadn’t had a drop of food or water. Thinking of that, she quickened her pace home and went straight to the kitchen next door.
An old-style stove with a bellows, a few scattered pieces of firewood piled to one side. In the cupboard there were only five coarse earthen bowls, three of them chipped. Digging around further, she found quite a bit of coarse rice in the rice jar, along with a few palm-sized sweet potatoes. It seemed this had been the original owner’s staple food.
Other than that, there was nothing else to be found.
Behind the kitchen’s back door stood a makeshift shed. Yu Nian’an stepped out to take a look it was a dug-out pit latrine, screened off with a cloth curtain. Off to the side was a shallow trench this was where bathing was done as well.
The kitchen was connected to the toilet. Yu Nian’an’s expression shifted again and again. After a long moment, she still couldn’t get past the discomfort in her heart, and turned back to the main room.
Sitting on the kang, eating a freshly peeled raw sweet potato, Yu Nian’an began to think about what she should do next.
The kitchen was clearly unusable. The most urgent task was to get that money back and hire someone to redo both of those areas.
A rough calculation told her that every step ahead would cost a great deal.
And if she remembered correctly, the original owner still had to go out and work for the brigade. Who knew whether those meager work points would even be enough to fill her own stomach?
Just thinking about it made Yu Nian’an’s head ache even more.
At this moment, how she wished time could rewind. If it did, she would definitely restrain herself and never type out that scathing review.
But then a sharp whistle sounded, shattering her fantasy.
It was time to go to work.
Resigned to her fate, she climbed down from the kang. It was July; the wheat had just been harvested. All that was needed now was to go to the fields and weed the still-unharvested crops sorghum, soybeans, sweet potatoes, and the like.
The work counted as fairly light. Following the memories she had, Yu Nian’an headed to the assigned spot. Quite a few people had already arrived one after another.
The original owner had always been taciturn, so no one came over to chat with her.
The sun was still rather harsh at this hour. Yu Nian’an wiped the sweat from her brow and bent down to start pulling up the weeds sprouting among the crops.
Though she’d never worked the fields in her previous life, she had the original owner’s memories to rely on. Before long, she’d found her rhythm again. With the novelty of the experience, she even worked with some enthusiasm.
Before she knew it, about a third of the area had been cleared.
“Well now, Annie, what’s gotten into you today? Working so hard all of a sudden.” During a break, the aunties in the neighboring plot happened to glance over. Seeing her behavior so different from usual, they were a little surprised.
Yu Nian’an knew it too. After her parents’ deaths, the original owner had lost all interest in everything. Half the time she spent at work was just staring into space. What Yu Nian’an was doing now had clearly shattered that established image.
But if she really wanted to live here long-term, eventually people would notice the difference. Instead of hiding it bit by bit, it was better to be bold and expose everything at once.
“Auntie, everyone’s working hard there’s no way I can slack off and hold people back,” she said.
Her words were impeccable, leaving no room for criticism. The few aunties nearby looked surprised, while others exchanged secretive glances and raised eyebrows.
Could it be that this Yu Family girl had been stimulated by something again?
Ignoring the occasional curious looks from around her, Yu Nian’an focused solely on her own work.
Now that she had the status of a lone orphan, the brigade had relaxed the rules for her. Her work points were even calculated as if she were a male laborer. If she worked a full day, she could earn four cents more than other women.
Thinking of the empty cupboards back home, Yu Nian’an picked up her pace, working diligently until the whistle signaling the end of the day blew. She finally managed to straighten her already stiff back and went to the scorekeeper to record her points.
A total of six centimeters amounting to twelve cents. Whether the money was much or little, it was still income, which greatly eased the fatigue from her labor.
By the time she returned home, the sun had completely set. Yu Nian’an was utterly exhausted. Thankfully, it was hot, so she washed up directly in the cool water from the jar, tidied up a bit, bolted the door, and lay back on the kang.
In the 1970s, there were no other forms of entertainment, so Yu Nian’an had no choice but to review the original plot in her head before sleeping.
By her calculations, the male and female leads would arrive soon. After that, the female lead would clash with an older educated youth, be ostracized, and eventually have to move out.
Luckily, she had arrived early this house was hers for the time being.
Just as she was drifting off, a strange noise came from outside: the creaking of the broken wooden door, especially sharp in the stillness of the night.
Yu Nian’an jolted awake, her heart skipping a beat, and quickly sat up on the kang.