Last time Aunt Jiang and Li Xu visited Jiang Nan, they brought her many things. Jiang Nan had always wanted to return the favor but couldn’t find the right gift or opportunity.
One day, she overheard two female teachers in the office discussing pork being sold without ration tickets. She joined them, persuaded them to take her along, and after winding through alleys to the black market, she bought five jin in one go. Then she went to the health clinic, used her medical record to get one jin of brown sugar, and picked up some small gifts before heading to Aunt Jiang’s house.
When she rode into the village, it was just as people were finishing work. Not wanting to barge through, she got off the bike and walked it.
Along the way, acquaintances greeted her: “Xiao Nan, going to see your aunt?”
Jiang Nan smiled and nodded. When people glanced at the basket on her handlebars to see what she carried, she pretended not to notice. It was then she overheard villagers gossiping about Zhao Rui and the educated youth Cen.
Only then did she realize they were a couple on the verge of divorce. She couldn’t help marveling—no wonder the six degrees of separation theory says you can know anyone in the world through six people. What a coincidence; the world is truly small.
“Sis!”
Lost in thought, Jiang Nan suddenly heard Li Xu’s voice. She turned to see him running toward her with a hoe. He deftly placed the hoe on her bike and took over pushing it, asking, “How come you had time to come back?”
Jiang Nan laughed. “I got tired of eating at the cafeteria every day. Came home to improve the meals a bit.”
Li Xu knew it was a lie—his sister must have brought things, worried their mother wouldn’t accept them.
Chatting casually, they returned home. Aunt Jiang was delighted to see Jiang Nan. “What brings you here?”
Jiang Nan took the basket off the bike, unpacked the items one by one, and explained, “Little sister is about to give birth, right? I may not have time to come later, so I thought I’d bring these things in advance. When the time comes, you can pass them along for me.”
Aunt Jiang had two sons and two daughters. The eldest and youngest were daughters. The youngest had married into the neighboring commune over three years ago and was about to have her second child in two months—right when Jiang Nan would be busy preparing for exams, unable to go with them.
Aunt Jiang touched the thick cotton cloth in her hands. “How many yards did you buy?”
Jiang Nan replied casually, “Not enough for two full outfits.”
In truth, she had used all the cloth ration tickets she’d received in the divorce settlement. She had enough clothes to wear, wouldn’t need new ones for two years, and by then ration tickets would be abolished. Better to use them all now.
Aunt Jiang then noticed the pork and gasped in distress, giving her a hearty slap. “Why buy so much? Do you have money to burn?”
Jiang Nan dodged playfully, carried the meat into the kitchen, and handed it to her second cousin-in-law, Sun Xiuzhen. “Second sister-in-law, cook it all. The weather’s getting hot—it won’t keep.”
Jiang Nan then sat down in front of the clay stove to help her second sister-in-law stoke the fire and pick vegetables.
Her second sister-in-law felt distressed. “Cooking all this—it could be a full meal!”
“Then let’s make it a meal!” Jiang Nan laughed.
Her claim of “improving the meals” wasn’t just empty talk. Aunt Jiang’s braised pork was her specialty, and the whole family ate until their stomachs were round, then sat contentedly in the courtyard, cooling off and digesting.
Only Li Xu sat for a while before shouldering his hoe and heading out again.
Jiang Nan checked her watch—it wasn’t even work time yet.
Seeing her puzzled, Aunt Jiang waved her hand. “Don’t mind him. These past two days he’s been fussing around with Zhao Rui on their private plot. Says he wants to plant tomatoes—wasting time!”
“Isn’t planting tomatoes a good idea? How is that wasting?” Jiang Nan asked curiously.
Aunt Jiang explained: normally, aside from growing a few vegetables for the household, the rest of the private plot was used to grow sweet potatoes for feeding pigs.
But this year Zhao Rui didn’t plan to plant sweet potatoes. He wanted to use the entire two mu of private land for tomatoes, saying he would sell them. If the pigs didn’t have enough to eat, he’d use the money from selling tomatoes to buy sweet potatoes.
“Tell me, isn’t that just pointless fussing?” Aunt Jiang spread her hands.
Jiang Nan understood her meaning. Aunt Jiang thought selling tomatoes might lose money, or earn too little, while wasting extra effort.
That was normal—after all, in the countryside every household grew vegetables. In villagers’ minds, vegetables weren’t worth much and couldn’t fetch a price.
But just because the village had plenty didn’t mean the city did. Especially since tomatoes weren’t locally produced, and in those days transportation wasn’t developed. Tomatoes were still a rarity in Ancheng!
“Auntie, you’re speaking too soon. I think Xiao Xu and Zhao Rui can make money,” Jiang Nan said firmly.
Zhao Rui really did have a sharp mind. At present, reform and opening hadn’t begun, nor had the household contract responsibility system. The state only allowed farmers to sell small amounts of their own produce. Private plots weren’t large, so yields wouldn’t reach the threshold for “speculation and profiteering.” Tomatoes were rare, and pricing them slightly higher than other vegetables was reasonable. In other words, Zhao Rui and Li Xu might well earn a modest, legitimate profit.
In fact, Zhao Rui had indeed planned this. In this life, he intended to settle locally, starting from the source of production with fresh produce. First, he would build capital as a quality vegetable seller. In a few years, when large-scale land contracting became possible, he would set up vegetable greenhouses, expand production, and establish fresh food supermarkets. When the state allowed private long-distance transport, he would already have accumulated strength, ready to build supply chains or supermarket chains.
Though far less grand than his previous life, it would still ensure food and clothing, and he could peacefully accompany his mother in her old age.
Aunt Jiang remained doubtful, but Li Chang, after listening and thinking for a while, advised her: “Mom, since our land hasn’t been planted yet, let’s grow tomatoes too.”
Aunt Jiang frowned, still reluctant. Li Chang pressed on: “When have you ever seen Zhao Rui do a losing business? And Xiao Nan also says it’s a good idea. If you don’t trust others, surely you trust Xiao Nan’s judgment?”
“Jiang Nan” had been able to earn money since childhood.
Aunt Jiang looked at Li Chang, then at Jiang Nan’s expectant eyes. After thinking for a while, she hesitated and consulted her husband: “So… shall we plant them?”
Uncle Jiang took a puff of his dry tobacco pipe, nodded, and said it was feasible.
The family thus reached a consensus. Aunt Jiang then arranged: “This afternoon after work, Second Son, you call Third Son and tidy up the land again. As for tomato seedlings… first check if Zhao Rui has extras. If so, we’ll buy from him. If not, we’ll raise them ourselves.”
With that, the matter was settled. Aunt Jiang suddenly remembered something, slapped her thigh, and went into the room.
Jiang Nan continued chatting with the Li family.
At that moment, a child came looking for Li Chang’s eldest son, calling from outside the door: “Jianshe—”
Sun Xiuzhen immediately recognized the voice and replied, “Chuanze, come in!”
Jiang Nan saw a delicate-looking boy of five or six, holding a slingshot, walk in.
The boy didn’t see Jianshe and looked around.
Sun Xiuzhen smiled. “Go into the room to find him. His second aunt brought comic books, and he’s reading them with his sister. You can join them. Wait until the sun goes down a bit before going out to play.”
The boy smiled shyly, then ran excitedly into the room.
Sun Xiuzhen turned to Jiang Nan and introduced: “This is Zhao Rui’s son.”
Jiang Nan studied his face and chatted: “His name is Chuanze, right? ‘Chuan’ for river, ‘Ze’ for marsh—both mountains and water, quite a meaningful name.” It sounded familiar.
Zhao Chuanze, where had she heard that before?
Speaking of names, Sun Xiuzhen was dissatisfied. She glanced sideways at Li Chang and complained: “Yes, unlike your nephew and niece—Li Jianshe, Li Aihong. Your brother studied all those books for nothing, only to give the children names that, when shouted on the street, a hundred people turn their heads!”
Jiang Nan found it amusing—indeed, the original Jiang Nan and her cousins had all finished junior high.
Second Brother Li Chang was displeased and argued, “Building the nation, loving the Red Army—how meaningful!”
His wife ignored him and continued chatting with Jiang Nan: “But other people’s names sound nice too—Jingqiu, Zhao Rui. Unlike me—‘Xiuzhen.’ There are four or five women with that name just in our brigade.”
“I think it’s nice.” Before Jiang Nan could respond, Li Chang declared firmly, “An excellent treasure—that’s wonderful!”
Hearing this, his wife turned shyly and twisted his arm playfully.
Jiang Nan felt as though she’d just been force-fed dog food, mixed with the midday braised pork—she was stuffed.
Fortunately, Aunt Jiang returned then, handing her a photograph. “Take a look.”
It showed a man in military uniform, square-faced, with thick brows and large eyes, radiating righteousness.
When Jiang Nan saw it, she instantly understood Aunt Jiang’s intention. She laughed helplessly. “Auntie, I don’t have the time or energy to think about this right now.”
Aunt Jiang grew annoyed. “Just look first—whether it works out or not, we’ll see later.”
She then introduced the man: a deputy battalion commander with two children. His wife had died in childbirth with the younger son. The children had been cared for by his mother. Recently, his mother neglected his elder brother’s children while caring for his, leading to an accident where the cousin hit his head. The elder brother was unhappy.
So the deputy commander planned to bring his mother and children to live with him in the army. His mother, however, wanted him to remarry and take a wife along. He was currently seeking a match.
Jiang Nan immediately felt it was unsuitable and laughed. “Auntie, this man is mainly looking for a wife to care for his children. I have to work and study—I can’t even take care of Cheng Hao, let alone someone else’s children. It’s not appropriate.”
Aunt Jiang disagreed. “His mother is there. You’d just be lending a hand.”
Jiang Nan smiled again. “Auntie, if I go to university, that’s four years. I plan to pursue graduate studies—another three years. Seven years in total. By then his children will be grown and won’t need me. Why would he still want me then?”
This wasn’t Jiang Nan trying to trick Aunt Jiang. Her retirement plan required a Shanghai household registration, so she intended to apply to a university there. But after graduation, most jobs were assigned back to one’s hometown. To stay in Shanghai, she planned to continue her studies, perhaps becoming a teacher at the university, which should solve the problem.
The Li family seemed shocked by her plan. “Seven years? By the time you graduate, how old will you be?” Thirty-three or thirty-four!
Aunt Jiang felt even more urgency about finding her niece a match. If they waited for Jiang Nan to act on her own, she’d be too old, and it would be harder to find someone.
Jiang Nan laughed, handed the photo back, and steered the conversation back. “So, you see, I’m not suitable for this battalion commander.”
Aunt Jiang unconsciously accepted the photo, muttering, “Not very suitable…”
After all, soldiers couldn’t leave the army freely. Xiao Nan would be studying for seven years. If they married, they’d be apart more than together, and such halfway marriages rarely lasted.
Aunt Jiang had no choice but to put the photo away and give up.
In the afternoon, Aunt Jiang’s family had to return to work, and Jiang Nan had to go back to her studies. She rode her bicycle home.
Halfway along the road, the sun grew hotter. Jiang Nan hadn’t worn a hat and couldn’t bear it anymore, so she stopped under a big tree to rest.
Sunlight filtered through the scattered leaves, dappled and soft, making one drowsy.
Jiang Nan didn’t dare sleep, so she let her mind wander to stay alert. Suddenly, her spirit jolted—she remembered where she had heard the name “Zhao Chuanze”!
Wasn’t that the name of Lu Xiaoxiao’s boyfriend in the TV drama? And then there was Cen Jingqiu, Jingqiu…
Cen Jingqiu—that was the name of the biological mother Lu Xiaoxiao helped her boyfriend search for!
Jiang Nan touched her face in astonishment, once again marveling at how small the world was.
So, the woman she had glimpsed at the Cheng household was very likely Cen Jingqiu. Her premonition had been right. But did Cen Jingqiu actually know the Cheng family and the young Lu Xiaoxiao?
Jiang Nan couldn’t find any related plot details, leaving her full of doubt. She thought again of Zhao Rui, Zhao Chuanze’s father. In the drama, he was the powerful figure the heroine Cheng Yixin always wanted to meet—but he strongly disliked Lu Xiaoxiao as his future daughter-in-law.
She remembered the heroine speculating that perhaps the big shot looked down on their modest family, believing the two children were mismatched, and that was why he opposed the marriage. So she insisted on visiting him, hoping to move him with emotion and reason, to change his mind. But he never met her. Until his fatal car accident—only then did Zhao Chuanze and Lu Xiaoxiao openly become a couple.
What a plot twist—pure “story kill”!
Jiang Nan drew a sharp breath, feeling that this man too was a tragic figure. Still, now that she knew the Zhao family were part of the drama’s storyline, she decided it was best to keep her distance, to avoid getting entangled in trouble.