16: Brother is so handsome
There were quite a few people coming to celebrate the birthday. During the day, it was mainly relatives who lived a little farther away. After lunch, they had to return in the afternoon, so Lu Guoguo finished her task quickly.
But as for the consequences of this task…
Stealing a glance at Lu Zaiyang’s darkened face, Lu Guoguo stood quietly to the side, holding Wen Mei’s hand, not daring to speak.
“Although he’s a boy, his craftmanship is even better than a girl’s. He’s tall, handsome, and young. Ah, it’s pity there’s no girl of the right age in my family.”
“My family also has four sons, but my sister has a daughter! When I get back, I’ll bring word to my sister. Such a fine young man, he’ll be in high demand!”
A crowd had already gathered around Third Aunt and Third Uncle.
“This young man is your nephew on your maternal side? Oh my, his hands are so skillful. You know my eldest brother’s daughter? She’s about the same age as your nephew!”
“How old is your eldest brother’s daughter? She can wait another two years, but my niece can’t wait any longer—she’s almost twenty one!”
After lunch, Lu Zaiyang proposed to take his leave.
Lu Guoguo obediently stood behind him and waved goodbye to Wen Mei, who looked reluctant to see them go.
Once they left the production team, Lu Guoguo cautiously observed Lu Zaiyang’s expression before clearing her throat and stepping forward. “Brother, the town isn’t far from here. How about we go take a look around?”
It was about one in the afternoon now, so they could still “buy” some meat.
Lu Zaiyang glanced at her.
“You made me such beautiful straw sandals. How about I use my private savings to buy three catties of pork belly and make braised pork for you when we get back?”
“Just for me?”
“For the whole family to eat together!”
Lu Guoguo quickly corrected herself.
Lu Zaiyang let out a scoff. “Do you have meat coupons?”
“Don’t worry about that. I have the money to buy meat,” Lu Guoguo vaguely, then pushed him toward the fork in the road leading to the town.
On the way, they ran into Seventh Aunt’s mother-in-law. This old lady wasn’t as easygoing as Third Aunt’s mother-in-law. She glanced coldly at Lu Zaiyang and Lu Guoguo as they greeted her, nodded indifferently, and immediately began to list Seventh Aunt’s faults.
“Your Seventh Aunt is simply outrageous! She secretly gave the snacks I saved for my grandson to those worthless girls to eat!”
“Your Seventh Aunt is such an unfilial daughter-in-law! I told my grandson to sleep more at home to grow taller, but she insists on waking the child up to do chores! She never listens to me, her mother-in-law.”
“Your Seventh Aunt…”
After hearing this, Lu Zaiyang said calmly, “It’s all because of the bad influence from my uncle. Next time you run into their family, just grab them and let them have it.”
“That’s true,” the old woman nodded, then walked away grumbling.
Lu Guoguo felt that having such a mother-in-law was simply suffocating.
“Seventh Aunt must have a really hard life.”
Lu Zaiyang glanced sideways at her. “Actually, compared to Third Aunt, Seventh Aunt’s life is a bit easier.”
“Huh?”
Lu Guoguo was shocked and puzzled. She followed closely behind Lu Zaiyang, quietly pressing for answers, “But I saw Third Aunt’s mother-in-law always smiling. She seemed pretty nice.”
“Seventh Aunt’s mother-in-law only criticizes Seventh Aunt in front of us, the Lu family. In front of strangers, she would never say a bad word about her. But Third Aunt’s mother-in-law tells everyone she meets that Third Aunt didn’t do this right or that right, and that she, as the mother-in-law, doesn’t know how to discipline her. In the eyes of outsiders, Third Aunt’s reputation isn’t good.”
Moreover, the couple’s relationship wasn’t as harmonious as Seventh Aunt and her husband’s.
In the original story, there wasn’t much description of these two aunts.
Hearing this, Lu Guoguo felt that her judgment of people wasn’t accurate enough.
“You can know a person’s face but not their heart. You can’t judge people just by their appearance,” Lu Zaiyang took the opportunity to teach her. “Don’t be a superficial person.”
“Got it.”
Lu Guoguo nodded.
When they arrived in town, they ran into Li Shan, who was carrying his younger brother to the health clinic. The younger brother was injured, his hand covered in blood. Knowing they were close, Lu Guoguo told Lu Zaiyang to go with them to the health clinic and see if there was anything he could do to help.
“I’ll buy the things and then meet you at the health clinic.”
After saying this, she took the basket from his hand and ran off.
After avoiding Lu Zaiyang and the others, Lu Guoguo found a secluded spot and put the three catties of pork belly from her space into the basket. The bamboo basket had a bamboo lid, which conveniently covered the contents.
Third Aunt had originally wanted to give them some return gifts, but Lu Zaiyang declined, which left plenty of space in the basket for carrying things.
Carrying the bamboo basket, which was much heavier than before, Lu Guoguo wandered casually through the streets. There wasn’t much to see, actually. Although today was market day, it was already afternoon, so there weren’t many people around.
She headed toward the supply and marketing cooperative but spotted the aunt who had sold her tofu before. Seeing that the woman was carrying a basket, Lu Guoguo approached her. “Auntie, what good things do you have today?”
The aunt had a good memory and recognized her immediately. “Oh, little comrade, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you. I’ve got something good today. Come over here.”
She led Lu Guoguo to a less crowded spot by the roadside, moved aside the lid on her bamboo basket, and showed her. “Smoked tofu! Smoked half a month ago. It’s perfect to eat now. It’s delicious stir-fried with anything!”
Lu Guoguo leaned in for a look. The light brown exterior looked pretty good. “Anything else besides this?”
“Nothing else,” the aunt spread her hands.
“How much is this?”
“A bit more expensive than tofu. Seven cents for a large piece,” the aunt pointed to one of the pieces separated out. “That’s enough for a big bowl of stir-fry.”
“You know I’m buying a lot, so make it cheaper,” Lu Guoguo bargained. “I wasn’t planning to buy anything today, but when I saw you, Auntie, I took the initiative to come over and say hello. I’m a regular customer now. If I run into you again in the future, I’ll buy more. Make it cheaper, and I’ll buy more today too.”
“Oh my, this little comrade really knows how to talk,” the aunt clicked her tongue. Seeing someone glance their way, she moved a little closer to Lu Guoguo, pretending to be chatting with a relative’s child. “How many pieces do you want?”
“If it’s five cents a piece, I’ll buy fifty cents’ worth.”
Anyway, this stuff can keep for a while. It can add a dish to the family’s meals while the vegetables in the garden aren’t ready yet.
The aunt did a quick calculation in her mind. “Alright, I’ll throw in an extra half piece. Next time you run into me, be sure to buy from me again.”
“No problem!”
The two completed the transaction quickly, and Lu Guoguo carried her basket toward the supply and marketing cooperative.
Fifty cents for ten pieces of smoked tofu. One piece, sliced thinly, could make a big bowl of stir-fry, enough for their family of four to eat once. Ten pieces would last for ten meals.
At the supply and marketing cooperative, Lu Guoguo used the forty cents Sun Zhaodi had given her that morning to buy all corn flour.
One cent per catty, she bought four catties.
The bamboo basket couldn’t hold it all, but fortunately, the cooperative had extra small bamboo baskets for borrowing. She registered her name, her production team, and the team leader’s name, then borrowed a small basket, agreeing to return it on the next market day.
After placing the bamboo basket inside, Lu Guoguo put the bamboo basket on her back and headed to the health clinic to find Lu Zaiyang.
As it turned out, Lu Zaiyang wasn’t there, only Li Shan and his brother were.
“He went out to look for you.”
“Oh no, I didn’t see him,” Lu Guoguo’s heart started racing. He hadn’t gone to the meat processing plant, had he?
But soon enough, Lu Zaiyang returned, carrying something.
Seeing the bamboo basket beside Lu Guoguo, he asked curiously, “Where did this come from?”
“I borrowed it from the comrade in charge at the supply and marketing cooperative. I’ll return it on the next market day.”
Lu Guoguo glanced at the bag he was carrying back; it seemed to contain something quite heavy.
Upon hearing it was borrowed, Lu Zaiyang immediately moved to put his bag inside. Lu Guoguo quickly lifted out the bamboo basket inside, waited for him to place his bag, and then put the basket back on top.
“Brother, where did you go to look for me?”
“I was heading to the meat processing plant, but then I saw you lining up at the supply and marketing cooperative, so I didn’t call out to you.”
Lu Zaiyang hoisted the bamboo basket onto his back and looked at the Li Shan brothers. “Heading home now?”
“Yeah, the injury’s been treated,” Li Shan poked his younger brother’s forehead. “Next time you play with a knife and cut your hand like this, I’m not taking care of you!”
“Cut by a knife?”
Lu Guoguo felt a wave of relief inside after hearing what Lu Zaiyang said. Then, hearing Li Shan scold his brother like that, she was quite surprised.
Li Shan’s younger brother, very embarrassed, hid behind his brother.
Seeing this, Li Shan gave a light snort, put his arm around his brother’s shoulders, and followed behind Lu Zaiyang. “Yeah, this is the second time. The first time just cut a little skin, but this time his whole palm was sliced open. The blood was gushing, it nearly scared our grandma into fainting!”
“Don’t play with knives anymore,” Lu Guoguo said, wincing just thinking about the pain. “It must hurt so much after getting hurt like that.”
“I won’t play with them anymore,” Li Shan’s younger brother whispered.
Walking home together as a group of four was much more interesting than just the two of them. Somehow, it ended up with Lu Guoguo and Li Shan’s younger brother walking ahead, while Lu Zaiyang and Li Shan walked behind.
“How did he end up playing with a knife?”
Watching the two ahead, who were nearly ten years apart in age but still had plenty to talk about, Lu Zaiyang asked Li Shan.
“That kid Xiao Shi taught him,” Li Shan’s expression darkened. “That little sneak got my brother to play with the knife for him to watch. My brother’s stupid too, does whatever anyone tells him to. I’ve told him to stop playing with Xiao Shi, but he just won’t listen.”
“Since he taught him, shouldn’t his family pay for the medical expenses?”
Lu Zaiyang said.
Li Shan chuckled slyly. “That’s exactly what I was thinking. When I took my brother out, my grandma had already taken my parents and sisters to Old Man Laoda’s place. My brother wasn’t the only one that kid Xiao Shi taught to play with a knife; the deputy team leader’s little grandson got taught too.”
“The deputy team leader’s elders are no pushovers,” Lu Zaiyang clicked his tongue. “If we go back now, we might still catch the drama.”
They did catch the drama. As soon as the four of them entered the production team, they heard arguing coming from Old Man Laoda’s place. Lu Guoguo perked up her ears, trying to figure out what was going on, but Lu Zaiyang told her to follow him over there to watch.
Li Shan had already put his brother on his back and was leading the way.
Lu Guoguo quickly followed.
“My little grandson is obviously a smart kid. I was planning to send him to school in the second half of the year. But your grandson goes and tricks my grandson into hurting his hand! Listen here, Lu, if you don’t give me an explanation today, don’t even think about me leaving!”
Old Mrs. Li sat at the entrance of Old Man Laoda’s courtyard, shouting curses.
Beside her were Li Shan’s family members, as well as the deputy team leader’s mother and wife.
“How old is your kid anyway? How can he be so vicious? If my grandson had gotten hurt anywhere too, I’d skin that Xiao Shi of yours alive!”
“That’s right! If you don’t give us some satisfaction, we’re not leaving today!”
Li Shan hurried forward with his brother on his back. He let out a loud, dramatic sob, drawing everyone’s attention. Then he set his brother down and raised the bandaged hand. “The doctor said it’s lucky it didn’t hit a nerve, otherwise this hand would be ruined!”
“My grandson!”
“My son!”
The deputy team leader’s mother also grabbed her daughter-in-law’s hand and wailed along, “Our child almost ended up like this too!”
Lu Guoguo and Lu Zaiyang lingered at the edge of the crowd, watching the excitement for a while. Only after seeing Old Man Laoda and his wife, with blackened faces, agree to pay the medical expenses plus two yuan in compensation, did they reluctantly head home.
But when they reached Cuihua’s doorstep, Lu Guoguo noticed an old, faded red cloth tied to their courtyard gate.
That signified a happy occasion in the family.
Thinking of the people they’d met when leaving that morning, Lu Guoguo instinctively looked at Lu Zaiyang.
Lu Zaiyang squinted. “What are you looking at me for?”
How could Lu Guoguo possibly tell the truth? “Brother is so handsome. I’m just looking a few more times.”
Lu Guoguo flashed a wide smile as she praised him.
“Hmph, all talk.”
Lu Zaiyang strode forward on his long legs. Lu Guoguo cast another glance at the red cloth before following.
The courtyard gate was locked; Sun Zhaodi and the others weren’t home.
Lu Zaiyang opened the gate and went in, setting down the bamboo basket. Lu Guoguo curiously lifted the bag he’d brought back. It weighed about twenty catties.
“What’s this?”
“Corn flour.”
Lu Zaiyang said.
“So much? I bought some too,” Lu Guoguo said, taking out all her purchases and pointing at her own corn flour. “Mum gave us forty cents this morning. I bought four catties of corn flour. How many catties do you have there?”
“Twenty-five catties,” Lu Zaiyang lifted the bamboo basket’s lid, raising an eyebrow at the meat and smoked tofu inside. “Aren’t you worried about the flavors mixing?”
“It’s not easy to store them separately either,” Lu Guoguo quickly got a bowl and put the tofu away properly. “How about we have pickled vegetable corn pancakes, braised pork, and stir-fried tofu for dinner?”
What a sumptuous meal it would be!
**