By the time Shen Yao and Shen Gang returned home, Shen Guozhong had already come back from the brigade headquarters.
As soon as he saw her, he asked,
“Did you tell Educated Youth He and Educated Youth Xu?”
While drawing water to wash her hands, Shen Yao nodded.
“I only ran into Educated Youth He. He said Educated Youth Xu was resting, so only he came. He’s walking behind us and should be here in just a few steps.”
Shen Guozhong laughed.
He Shi had not been in Shenjia Village very long and did not interact much with the villagers. Did he even know where Fifth Aunt’s house was?
He asked Shen Yao whether she had told him where Fifth Grandma lived.
Shen Yao froze.
She had forgotten.
One look at his daughter’s expression told Shen Guozhong everything.
Laughing, he said he would go out and take a look.
He Shi had not fallen far behind the siblings. As soon as Shen Guozhong stepped out of the courtyard gate, they met face to face.
After the incidents involving the dinner invitation and the shoe coupons, and especially after learning that He Shi had sent grain and meat to a martyr’s family, Shen Guozhong now thought very highly of him.
Smiling, he said,
“Our Yaoyao can be a bit careless. She probably forgot to tell you where her Fifth Grandma lives. It’s not far, just a few steps away. I’ll walk you over.”
Only moments earlier, He Shi had realized he had no idea where Fifth Grandma’s house actually was.
He had been thinking that Shen Yao was really unreliable and was considering calling her back out to guide him.
Instead, Shen Guozhong appeared.
He could naturally feel Shen Guozhong’s friendly attitude.
Smiling, he thanked him.
His gaze casually swept toward the Shen family courtyard.
Unfortunately, only Shen Gang was there washing his hands.
There was no sign of Shen Yao at all.
Because Shen Guozhong accompanied him over, Fifth Grandma ended up insisting that he stay and eat with He Shi.
In her words:
“I’m just an old woman living alone. I’m afraid Educated Youth He might feel uncomfortable eating here by himself.”
It was not that Shen Guozhong was unwilling to stay, but he knew the old woman’s life was difficult and did not want to consume her food.
So he said:
“All right, but my family has already steamed rice for me. I’ll go home and bring a bowl over.”
The old woman immediately scolded him.
“Haven’t your family already given me enough things? Can’t you even eat one meal at your Fifth Aunt’s house? Even the fish on the table was caught by Yaoyao in the stream today and brought over for me. Sit down, sit down.”
He Shi laughed as well and invited Shen Guozhong to join them.
Since Xu Xiangdong had not come, there was exactly enough food.
Shen Guozhong stopped insisting.
He could always bring the old woman more things later.
Looking at the table full of delicious dishes, he smiled.
“Then I’ll gladly enjoy a bit of good fortune today.”
The old woman beamed.
Instead of sitting down immediately, she picked up a bowl and placed several pieces of braised pork into it.
“You all start eating. It’s not often we have something this good. I’ll take a few pieces over for Yaoyao and Gangzi to taste.”
Shen Guozhong was already used to this.
Smiling, he said,
“Fifth Aunt, then let Yunzhi know I’m eating here so they don’t wait for me.”
The old woman agreed and carried the bowl out.
Watching her leave, Shen Guozhong smiled and said:
“My Fifth Aunt loves Yaoyao the most. Whenever she gets something good, she’d rather go without herself than not save some for Yaoyao.”
That led naturally into a brief conversation about the old woman.
He explained that she had lost three children before Shen Guohuai survived, and one of those children had been a daughter.
“Yaoyao resembles my cousin a little. Maybe because of that emotional connection, my Fifth Aunt has always been especially fond of her.”
That was also one reason why, among the five brothers of his father’s generation, Shen Guozhong had been the one who took the greatest care of the old woman after Shen Guohuai’s death.
Just for how kindly she treated Shen Yao, he and Wang Yunzhi had never stopped looking after her.
As the conversation continued, Shen Guozhong naturally thanked He Shi on the old woman’s behalf.
The gratitude gradually turned into praise.
Before long, He Shi’s act of helping Shen Grandma had practically been elevated into an example of the lofty ideological consciousness of the people of the capital.
He Shi had grown up without ever being praised much by elders.
He genuinely was not used to hearing such compliments.
In the end, he had to tell the truth.
“You’re really giving me too much credit. I only asked Dongzi to buy grain for the old lady because my own brother was also a martyr. There’s nothing particularly worth talking about. I really don’t deserve all this praise. I haven’t actually done much.”
Shen Guozhong had not known there was such a reason behind it.
Naturally, he sighed over the cruelty of war.
The peaceful life they enjoyed today had been bought with the lives of countless fine young men.
When the old woman returned after delivering the pork, both men tacitly dropped the subject.
Instead, they invited her to sit down and eat.
The meal had clearly been prepared with great care.
There was a plate of scrambled eggs with chopped peppers, a braised crucian carp, a plate of braised pork, and three vegetable dishes.
In a rural village, this was the kind of meal normally seen only during festivals and holidays.
While eating, the old woman proposed something to He Shi.
She wanted him to eat at her house for the next month.
The grain he had sent could simply count as his contribution toward shared meals.
She said:
“The village takes pretty good care of me, so I can get by just fine. I can’t let you spend so much on me. You’re city kids, but city life isn’t exactly plentiful these days either. Now that you’ve been sent down to the countryside, you have to earn your food from the fields just like the rest of us farmers. Life isn’t easy for anyone.”
The old woman rarely left the village and was terribly out of touch with current news.
She had no idea that on the other side of the river, He Shi was considered quite a prized catch.
He was the sort of person who could manage to eat meat every few days.
Earlier that day, she had seen him transplanting rice seedlings in the fields and simply assumed he was like any other educated youth, someone whose family could not help much and who had to earn work points to survive.
So she had thought it over.
She could not simply accept so many gifts for free.
If He Shi came to eat with her, he would provide grain and rice, while she would contribute vegetables from her garden and the occasional eggs laid by her chickens.
That way she would not be taking advantage of him, nor would she be wasting his good intentions.
When Shen Guozhong heard the suggestion, he was briefly stunned.
Then he thought:
That’s actually a great idea.
The old woman was acting entirely out of kindness and wanted to repay He Shi’s generosity.
She did not know his circumstances.
Shen Guozhong did.
To be honest, people were naturally biased.
Shen Laoliu was a member of his production team, but he could never compare to the old woman, who was his own aunt.
He subconsciously glanced at He Shi, sincerely hoping the young man would agree.
The old lady would never accept his grain coupons, but if He Shi bought something good every few days, she would at least get to share in some of it.
Ever since Guohuai’s death, his Fifth Aunt’s life had not been easy. In just one year, she had become noticeably older and thinner. If her diet could improve even a little, it would do her health a great deal of good.
For some reason, He Shi suddenly thought of the way Shen Yao had looked when she ate turtle meat that day…
A trace of amusement appeared in his eyes, and he agreed without hesitation.
“Alright. Thank you, Fifth Grandma. Though it probably won’t just be me. Dongzi will most likely join me too. Of course, he’ll contribute grain coupons as well.”
The old lady was momentarily confused.
Shen Guozhong added,
“Dongzi is Educated Youth Xu, Xu Xiangdong.”
Only then did she understand.
The moment she heard He Shi agree, she became delighted. She did not mind having one more educated youth at the table at all. The old woman lived a lonely life, and the thought of having two young people come eat with her made her genuinely happy.
As for Shen Guozhong, he knew his Fifth Aunt well. She was kind-hearted and an excellent cook. In his view, He Shi and the others certainly would not lose out by eating at her place. Meanwhile, his Fifth Aunt’s meals would improve somewhat as well. It was beneficial for both sides.
He Shi, on the other hand, was thinking about what Shen Guozhong had just told him.
The old lady doted on Shen Yao.
Anything good he bought in the future would inevitably find its way into that girl’s mouth sooner or later.
And as the saying went, when you accept someone’s gifts, your hand grows short; when you eat someone’s food, your words grow soft.
Surely the little girl would treat him a bit more politely this time.
After all, one meal would be followed by another.
She would not be able to burn that bridge anytime soon.
So, all three of them had their own considerations.
Once the arrangement was settled, everyone was happy.
Well, everyone at this table was happy.
If Shen Laoliu’s family heard about it, they certainly would not be.
But who cared?
Educated youths were never required to eat with any particular household. They chose according to their own preferences.
When Shen Guozhong got home and told Wang Yunzhi about it, even she felt happy for the old lady.
She said to Shen Guozhong,
“People always say good people are rewarded. Our Fifth Aunt is a good person, but she’s had such hard luck when it comes to family. Having educated youths eat at her house is a good thing. I’ve gone over to visit when I had time before, and the old lady really gets by on the simplest meals when she’s alone.”
Shen Guozhong knew that as well.
There was only so much they could do.
He had suggested before that the old lady come eat with their family, but she had stubbornly refused. After that, she even visited less often because she was afraid of becoming a burden.
Wang Yunzhi continued:
“There’s nothing to criticize about how she treats our children. During the day she already gave us some of that pork. Then, probably figuring there wasn’t enough for us to make braised pork with, she brought over some finished braised pork before dinner too. Watching Yaoyao pick up a piece and eat it, she smiled until her eyes nearly disappeared, then went home as happy as could be.”
Naturally, Shen Guozhong knew.
“We should remember her kindness. Guohuai is gone, so we’ll simply treat her as one of our own elders and take care of her.”
Wang Yunzhi nodded.
Then she thought about how her daughter had looked during dinner and burst out laughing.
“You should’ve seen Yaoyao’s expression. If we’d followed your idea and made her a separate bowl of white rice to go with it, she’d probably have laughed in her sleep tonight.”
Shen Guozhong laughed too.
He had indeed told Wang Yunzhi to steam rice separately for their daughter.
But right after that conversation, the double harvest season had begun. Cooking porridge and steaming rice had both become jobs that Shen Yao insisted on doing herself, so Wang Yunzhi never got the chance.
As a result, Shen Yao had continued eating sweet potato rice.
Sweet potato rice was completely different from fresh sweet potatoes.
The harvested sweet potatoes were dried, cut into grain-sized pieces, and stored. The texture was nowhere near as good as fresh sweet potatoes.
Smiling, Shen Guozhong said there was no hurry.
Once the double harvest was over, he would take those chores back and make proper white rice for her then.
After chatting for a while, the couple called Shen Gang over to tidy up and prepare to head out for night seedling pulling.
The next day, He Shi and Xu Xiangdong informed Shen Laoliu’s family that they would no longer be eating meals there.
They explained that they had only recently learned there was a martyr’s family in the village, an elderly woman living alone, and felt they ought to help look after her.
The news hit Shen Laoliu’s family like a hammer blow.
If the two educated youths stopped eating there, it meant no more meat and no more extra oil or rich food for them.
Fortunately, Shen Laoliu managed to keep his composure.
His heart ached terribly, but he still said:
“It’s alright. It was always your choice. Guohuai sacrificed his life. Looking after Fifth Aunt is only right.”
He Shi smiled faintly and headed off to work.
The moment he left, the two youngest children in Shen Laoliu’s family burst into loud tears.
The crying was earth-shaking.
The children had enjoyed a month of good living.
All the neighborhood kids had envied them for getting to eat meat.
And now the meat was gone.