The next morning, after breakfast, Su Wan returned to her room, picked up the handkerchief, and slipped it into her pocket. As she walked outside, she casually called out, “Mom, I’m going out for a walk.”
Su Niang was in the kitchen washing pots. Hearing her daughter’s words, she walked out just in time to see Su Wan leave the house and turn the corner.
She could only turn back and mutter to herself, “Going for a walk so early in the morning? I’ve never seen her do that before. Really strange!”
But Su Wan was not going for a walk at all.
She was heading to the east side of the village.
There used to be a landlord’s residence there, and inside it was a very deep well. When Su Wan was little, Father Su had once told her that when the well was dug, it caused quite a stir. All the village children had gone to watch, though they could not get inside and see anything.
Later, the courtyard was demolished, but the well remained. The villagers living in the east used it for water.
Father Su had often warned young Su Wan not to go near the well in case she accidentally fell in.
However, during the severe drought a few years ago, the well dried up, and afterward it never produced water again. Looking down from above, it was pitch black and impossible to see the bottom.
To prevent children from accidentally falling in, people had built a wooden fence around it. Father Su had even planned to organize the villagers someday to fill the well completely.
Su Wan planned to throw the object into this well.
The well was so deep that even tossing a stone into it produced no echo. There could not be a safer place. And once the well was eventually filled in, she would feel even more reassured.
There were not many people on the road, so Su Wan quickly arrived at the place.
Separated from the well by the fence, Su Wan could not easily climb over it, so she simply tossed the handkerchief directly into the well.
She listened carefully.
No sound came back.
Su Wan clapped the nonexistent dust off her hands.
What a wonderful feeling to finally be free of worries!
With light and cheerful steps, she headed back home.
When she returned, she saw Su Niang directing her brother as he repaired the chicken coop.
Seeing Su Wan return, Su Niang asked, “Why did you suddenly decide to go for a walk? You disappeared in the blink of an eye. I wanted to call after you, but you were already gone.”
Su Wan laughed awkwardly. “I suddenly felt like going out for a stroll.”
Then she quickly changed the subject and asked curiously, “Mom, why are you and Brother suddenly fixing the chicken coop? Let me help too!”
Sure enough, Su Niang’s attention was immediately diverted. She waved her hand dismissively and said, “What help could you possibly provide? It’s just a small job. Let your brother handle it.”
So, Su Wan simply sat there with Su Niang and watched Su Lei repair the chicken coop.
By midmorning, Father Su was at the brigade office, and Su Niang had gone out visiting neighbors. Only Su Wan and Su Lei remained at home.
Su Wan was reading inside her room. In this era, reading books was practically the only way to pass the time.
Knock knock knock.
Someone was knocking at the door.
Su Wan felt puzzled.
Who could it be?
It definitely was not someone from the village. Villagers would simply walk right in without knocking. People in the village did not bother with formalities like knocking on doors.
Su Lei heard it too and came out. When he looked, it was Educated Youth Zhao.
“I’m coming in,” Zhao Qiuyue said with a smile.
Su Wan welcomed her inside and asked curiously, “Educated Youth Zhao, what brings you here?”
Zhao Qiuyue glanced at Su Lei and said, “I came to thank Comrade Su Lei for helping me yesterday.” As she spoke, she handed over the items she was carrying.
“No need, no need! Educated Youth Zhao, my brother only lent a helping hand yesterday. You don’t need to be so polite. We can’t accept these things!” Su Wan hurriedly refused.
“I specifically brought these over. How could you not accept them?” Zhao Qiuyue directly placed the items on the table.
Su Wan had no choice but to accept them.
Then Zhao Qiuyue looked at Su Lei with slight shyness and asked, “Comrade Su Lei, are you going to the county tomorrow?”
Su Lei had originally been standing there quietly without intending to join the conversation. Hearing her question, he froze for a moment before nodding.
“Uh… yes.”
“I’m planning to go to the county tomorrow too. The village ox is sick, so the ox cart can’t be used. Could you give me a ride?” Zhao Qiuyue asked hopefully.
Hearing this, Su Lei looked troubled.
“Th-that wouldn’t be very appropriate, would it? What if someone sees us…”
Watching Zhao Qiuyue’s expression from the side, Su Wan immediately understood.
So, she had taken a liking to her brother!
Su Wan stood there with an auntie-like grin, happily watching the drama unfold.
“What’s inappropriate about it? It’s just riding a bicycle with someone,” Zhao Qiuyue said indifferently.
Still, Su Lei felt it was unsuitable.
Aside from his own family, he had never carried anyone else on his bicycle before—especially not a girl!
“How about this,” Su Lei suggested. “I’ll lend you our other bicycle.”
“That won’t work. Comrade Su Wan still has to go to work tomorrow. We can’t make her walk there, can we?” Zhao Qiuyue immediately argued.
Su Wan very much wanted to say that she did not mind walking.
But then she thought about her brother’s hopelessly dense personality. Educated Youth Zhao was pretty and seemed like a good person. If she became her sister-in-law, that would actually be pretty nice.
So Su Wan stayed silent.
Seeing that there was no other option, and unable to let her walk such a long distance, Su Lei finally agreed.
The moment he agreed, Zhao Qiuyue’s face lit up with joy. Even her words carried obvious happiness.
“Thank you so much, Comrade Su Lei! Then I’ll wait for you at the crossroads tomorrow morning!”
After glancing at Su Lei once more, she smiled at Su Wan and turned to leave.
Su Lei scratched his head with a troubled expression. Turning around, he suddenly met Su Wan’s teasing gaze.
He wanted to ask what kind of look that was, but for some reason the words never left his mouth. Instead, he simply turned around and went back into the house.
Standing in the yard, Su Wan looked in the direction each of them had left and silently thought to herself:
Looks like I’ll have a sister-in-law before long!
That evening, Su Niang busied herself packing things for Su Lei to bring the next day.
Watching her pack an enormous bundle, Su Lei quickly protested, “Mom, there’s no need to bring so much stuff. It’ll be hard to carry on the bicycle!”
“What’s hard about it? Tomorrow I’ll tie it to the back seat with rope. You won’t even need to carry it yourself,” Su Niang said dismissively.
Su Lei wanted to say that the back seat would be carrying someone, but when he thought of Zhao Qiuyue, the words stuck in his throat.
Instead, he said, “Mom, this work trip isn’t far away. I’ll be back in two or three days. We won’t finish all this food, and it’ll spoil by then.”
Hearing this, Su Niang immediately became reluctant to waste food.
“Oh, is that so? Then I won’t pack so much.”
She removed quite a few things from the bundle.
Only after Su Niang finally finished packing and went to cook did Su Wan walk over and bump her brother lightly with her elbow.
Smiling, she asked, “Brother, why didn’t you tell Mom you’re taking someone with you tomorrow?”
Su Lei rubbed the top of Su Wan’s head hard and said irritably, “No respect for your elders. She’s a girl—how could I go around talking about that casually?”
Then he walked away.
Su Wan watched his retreating figure and smiled.
During dinner, Su Niang suddenly remembered something and asked, “By the way, where did the things on the table come from? I saw sponge cakes, biscuits, and even a bag of White Rabbit milk candies!”
Su Wan glanced at Su Lei and then heard him say, “Oh, those? I bought them the day before yesterday and forgot to take them out. I only remembered today.”
“I see. You can even forget things you bought yourself? Honestly,” Su Niang said. “Why did you suddenly think of buying candy? We don’t even have little children at home.”
Su Wan immediately chimed in, “Mom, who says only children can eat candy? You and Dad can eat it too!”
“We’re already so old, and you still expect us to eat candy?” Father Su said that with his mouth, but his face had already bloomed into a smile. Su Niang was smiling too.
“Who says you and Mom are old? I think you both still look young! People always say that if they didn’t know better, they’d never guess your children are already this grown up!” Su Wan said sweetly.
Her words made Father Su and Su Niang smile nonstop throughout the meal.