Shen Yao did not gain much from her evening at the educated youth compound.
The educated youths rarely talked about life in the cities. She could only make rough judgments about urban living standards by observing their clothing, the food they brought with them, and the skills and talents they possessed. Learning more would require finding other ways to gather information, and that was not something that could be rushed.
For now, what mattered most was improving her immediate circumstances.
As the weather grew hotter, the chickens at home laid fewer and fewer eggs. Even a simple bowl of egg-drop soup had become a luxury. Meals had become both the thing Shen Yao looked forward to most each day and the thing she dreaded most.
She believed she was trying very hard to adapt to life here.
What she did not realize was that her difficulty swallowing the food and her steadily shrinking appetite had been noticed by Wang Yunzhi and Shen Guozhong, who worried about her constantly.
Whenever Wang Yunzhi looked at the two pigs in the sty, she felt troubled. They were still not fat enough.
Turning in a pig as part of the production quota would earn four jin of meat coupons from the food station. Any remaining value would be paid in cash according to the pig’s grade, usually three to four mao per jin. For a farming household, that was a considerable source of income.
The two pigs they were raising had not yet reached the required weight. Even if she wanted to get some meat for her daughter, she had no way to do so.
For the first time in her life, Wang Yunzhi found herself eagerly hoping the busy double-harvest season would arrive quickly. She looked forward even more to its end, when the production team would slaughter a pig and Yaoyao could finally have some meat.
The double-harvest season would last at least half a month.
Before heading out to work that morning, Wang Yunzhi pulled Shen Gang aside and instructed him to catch something edible from the stream if he had time during the day.
For a village child, climbing mountains and wading through rivers was second nature.
After feeding the family’s pigs that morning, Shen Gang shouldered a snail scoop, carried a basin, and headed for the large stream with Shen Yao.
The snail scoop was essentially a five- or six-meter bamboo pole. At the front was a triangular crosspiece fitted with a net bag that was wide at the top and narrow at the bottom.
Shen Yao watched as Shen Gang extended the scoop from the riverbank down to the streambed and dragged it along the bottom. When he finally pulled it back, the net contained stones, water plants, snails, and small fish.
Shen Gang was not picky.
He tossed both the snails and the small fish into the basin he had brought along.
After more than an hour of work, the siblings had gathered over half a basin of snails and small fish. Two of the fish were as large as a person’s palm.
The snails made the basin quite heavy, so Shen Gang carried it himself and handed the snail scoop to his sister. Shen Yao stared blankly at the long bamboo pole. As the second daughter of the Shen family, who had been taught proper bearing and deportment by governesses since childhood, she simply could not imagine what sort of ridiculous sight she would make carrying such a strange contraption.
Hesitantly, she hoisted the snail scoop onto her shoulder. Every step she took made the long pole sway back and forth. Shen Yao felt uncomfortable all over and was convinced she looked especially, especially foolish.
Xu Xiangdong and He Shi had gone to the township food station early that morning to buy meat. At the moment, Xu Xiangdong was carrying a slab of pork threaded through with a loop of straw rope. When he spotted Shen Yao approaching with the odd-looking bamboo pole on her shoulder, he burst out laughing and instinctively glanced at He Shi.
Sure enough, He Shi had noticed the girl too.
Standing closer, Xu Xiangdong clearly saw the corner of He Shi’s mouth lift slightly.
The two groups crossed paths.
Shen Yao had no desire to acknowledge either of them. Shen Gang likewise did not consider himself friendly with the two educated youths. While still three meters away, he moved closer to Shen Yao and silently made room for them to pass.
Seeing this, Xu Xiangdong cheerfully walked over.
“You’re Gangzi, right? What good stuff have you got there?”
Shen Gang glanced at him. Since when had they become so familiar? Still, one should not slap a smiling face. He tilted the basin so Xu Xiangdong could see.
“Snails and small fish.”
Xu Xiangdong had actually eaten snails before. They were not anything precious, but they tasted quite good. His eyes lit up, and he lifted the meat in his hand for Shen Gang to see.
“Now that I see those snails, I’m craving some myself. We bought meat today. How about we come eat with your family?”
It was not unusual for educated youths to share meals with local villagers, so Shen Gang was not particularly surprised.
The streaked layers of fat and lean pork belly glistened in the sunlight. His mouth instantly filled with saliva. It took considerable effort not to swallow visibly and reveal just how tempted he was.
Meat.
At that time, there was hardly anyone who did not crave meat.
A few days ago, he would have hesitated. But after yesterday, he had already confirmed that these two educated youths no longer had much influence on his sister.
Looking at the basin of snails in his hands, he said,
“These snails still need time to spit out the sand. We can’t eat them at noon.”
Xu Xiangdong had never been interested only in the snails anyway. Hearing that Shen Gang seemed receptive, he grinned and slapped him on the shoulder.
“That’s no problem. We can eat them tonight instead. Take this meat home first. I’ll let Sixth Uncle know later, and tonight we’ll come join your family for dinner.”
Faced with the temptation of pork, Shen Gang immediately reached out to take it.
But before he could, Shen Yao suddenly spoke.
“Gangzi, don’t take other people’s things.”
Shen Gang froze mid-motion and turned to look at her.
Shen Yao said nothing more. She simply shook her head and walked away.
Shen Gang glanced longingly at the beautifully marbled pork belly, then forced himself to look away. Smiling apologetically at Xu Xiangdong, he hurried after Shen Yao.
He Shi, who had kept his hands in his pockets and remained silent the entire time, turned slightly to watch Shen Yao walk past him.
The absurd-looking bamboo pole rested on her shoulder. After she had gone a short distance, the netted end of the snail scoop happened to bounce right in front of He Shi and Xu Xiangdong’s faces. Several strands of wet green and black water grass still hung from the net.
She was not even interested in meat.
This little fool was definitely holding a grudge.
Watching the siblings walk away, Xu Xiangdong clicked his tongue.
“She doesn’t even want meat? Is she really that foolish?”
He Shi could call Shen Yao “little fool” all day long and find nothing strange about it. But hearing Xu Xiangdong say it sounded oddly unpleasant.
He glanced at him and said,
“You’ve got too much free time.”
Xu Xiangdong instantly felt a shiver down his spine.
Remembering that only a couple of days ago he had joked about pursuing Shen Yao, he worried He Shi might misunderstand and think he was interested in her. Looking around to make sure nobody else was nearby, he hurriedly clarified.
“Who do you think I’m doing this for? Isn’t it all for your sake?”
He Shi frowned slightly.
“What do you mean, for my sake?”
Xu Xiangdong chuckled.
“Come on, stop pretending. I saw everything last night. Shen Yao may not be the brightest, but she’s beautiful. Men are visual creatures. As your brother, I completely understand and support you.”
The moment Xu Xiangdong mentioned seeing everything last night, He Shi knew exactly what he meant.
“You’re overthinking it. Don’t lump me together with yourself.”
Visual creatures?
Xu Xiangdong was one.
He was not.
He had no interest in delicate, troublesome women. The idea that he liked Shen Yao had never even crossed his mind.
He had only seen her foolishly gravitating toward Song Jincheng and worried she might get taken advantage of, so he had offered a few words of warning.
Then he remembered how, after knowing him only a few days, she had climbed into his bed in the middle of the night.
His brows knitted together.
A troubling thought suddenly occurred to him.
What if she went into Song Jincheng’s room the same way?
Did this little fool not understand the difference between men and women at all? Did she not realize how dangerous it was for a girl who looked like her to enter a man’s room?
Still, those were concerns for her family, not him.
Offering a few warnings was already more than enough good deed on his part.
Overthinking it?
Did Xu Xiangdong believe that?
He had been hanging around with He Shi since they were thirteen or fourteen. Among their group of friends, who had not dated at least a few people? Yet he had never once seen He Shi pay attention to girls.
There were many things Xu Xiangdong might misjudge, but not this.
By the time they had walked some distance away, Shen Gang finally asked,
“Big Sis, why didn’t you let them come eat with us? We haven’t had meat in ages.”
Truthfully, Shen Yao craved meat too, even the fatty portions she would never have touched in the past.
But whether it was He Shi or Xu Xiangdong, she did not particularly like either of them.
There was no need to mention He Shi’s sharp tongue and unpleasant personality.
As for Xu Xiangdong, he seemed far too frivolous. His eyes darted around constantly, making him look like someone always plotting something. What good could come from someone like that approaching them of his own accord?
She was not desperate enough for a mouthful of food to invite such people into her home.
Naturally, she could not explain all of that to Shen Gang.
So she simply shook her head and said she did not like them.
Although she said little, Shen Gang was surprisingly perceptive for his age.
Or perhaps it was the result of Wang Yunzhi’s upbringing.
Day after day, Wang Yunzhi reminded her son that Shen Yao was beautiful. Any male over the age of ten was not to be allowed near her, especially not alone with her. She worried someone might take advantage of Shen Yao, so Shen Gang had to keep a close eye on her.
Over the past two years, young men from both their own village and neighboring villages had been dropping by every few days. Some had even tried befriending Shen Gang just to get close to Shen Yao.
The constant attention had made Shen Gang as jumpy as a frightened bird.
He felt his mother was absolutely right.
Every man who lingered around his sister was clearly up to no good.
Reflecting on how he had nearly been dazzled by the pork belly just now, Shen Gang forcibly chased thoughts of stir-fried pork with chilies and braised pork out of his mind.
At lunch, he even told Comrade Wang Yunzhi about it. Wang Yunzhi praised him for doing the right thing and comforted him by saying that once the double-harvest season was over, there would be meat to eat.
Shen Yao truly could not understand how people here managed to live such hard lives.
The original Shen Yao had lived in a muddled state and remembered very little. She asked Wang Yunzhi,
“Mom, can’t we raise more chickens at home? Then we’d have more meat and eggs to eat.”
Wang Yunzhi shook her head.
“We can’t. There are regulations from above. Each family is only allowed three chickens. One is handed over to the state, one is for the family to eat, and one can be sold to the food station for a little extra money to help with household expenses. They’re strict about it. No one dares go over the limit.”
Shen Yao thought, What sort of situation is this? They regulate everything under heaven and earth, even the number of chickens a family can raise.
Could a country like this ever become prosperous? Could it become strong?
The Second Miss Shen found it utterly incomprehensible.
Meanwhile, Wang Yunzhi casually answered while stir-frying vegetables. Only after a moment did something suddenly occur to her.
She froze, forgetting to stir the food in the wok.
Staring at Shen Yao, she asked blankly,
“Yaoyao, did you just ask me about raising chickens?”
Shen Yao knew exactly why she was reacting so strongly.
The original Shen Yao would never have paid attention to questions like that.
She had no intention of pretending to be foolish forever. Especially in a place this poor, there was no way she could improve their circumstances while continuing to act like a fool. So she merely nodded with an innocent, slightly confused expression.
Wang Yunzhi quickly scooped the vegetables out of the wok, splashed several ladles of water into it, then carried the dish into the main room while excitedly calling for Shen Guozhong.