Chen Qiaoyu went back inside to put away her things—though there wasn’t much to arrange. Other than the camphor wood chest they had brought from home, Qingyang’s room contained only a simple bed made of bricks and wooden planks.
There wasn’t even a mattress on the bed, just a layer of straw. The pillow was made from a rolled-up shirt.
After putting everything away, Chen Qiaoyu wondered, “Why isn’t Qingyang back yet?”
Just as she was thinking that, voices sounded in the yard.
“Brother Zhong, is my sister back?” It was Qingyang’s anxious voice.
“Yes.” It was Zhong Sinian, fresh from his bath, now scrubbing his clothes.
Qingyang grew more worried: “Why isn’t she back yet? Where could my sister have gone… Wait, Brother Zhong, what did you just say? My sister’s back?”
“Yes.” Zhong Sinian tilted his chin toward Qingyang’s room.
From inside, Chen Qiaoyu could see everything clearly through the window.
She thought Zhong Sinian’s mouth could also be donated.
Chen Qiaoyu pushed the door open. “Qingyang, I’m back.”
Chen Qingyang’s anxious expression finally eased when he saw his sister. He hurried over. “Sis, where did you go? When I got back from the brick kiln, Aunt Jin told me you didn’t go to the fields today.”
Chen Qiaoyu thought for a moment, then said, “Oh, I heard there was a big market at Eighteen-Mile River, and things were cheap there, so I went early.”
She raised her voice slightly so that Zhong Sinian in the yard could hear.
But Zhong Sinian acted as if he hadn’t heard a thing. Another bucket of water came splashing down over his head. With his back to Chen Qingyang’s room, he didn’t react at all.
Chen Qingyang came inside, looking surprised. “Eighteen-Mile River? That’s thirty or forty li from our village. Why did you go there, Sis?”
Chen Qiaoyu smiled. “To buy things, like I said. Things at that market are really cheap.”
Chen Qingyang’s face was full of speechless exasperation. “Sis, other people might not know, but I do. Between the two of us, we only have two yuan and thirteen cents left.”
Chen Qiaoyu thought to herself, That’s not right—I spent a hundred and fifty today alone!
She decided to change the subject. “Don’t worry about it. I borrowed it from someone. Enough about that—I bought you some good stuff. Come take a look.”
Chen Qiaoyu was overjoyed, convinced that Qingyang would be thrilled to see the sandals and vest.
The shirt Qingyang was wearing right now was one that Chen Liang had worn out and discarded. The neckline had nearly sagged down to his navel.
But there was no choice. Without it, Chen Qingyang had nothing else to wear.
Chen Qiaoyu called out to him. “Come here! I bought you sandals and a vest. Come try them on.”
Despite her enthusiastic invitation, Chen Qingyang remained unmoved.
He even reached out worriedly to feel her forehead. “Sis, are you coming down with a fever?”
She had to be delirious.
Where would they get the money to buy sandals and a vest?
Chen Qiaoyu swatted his hand away, pulled him to the foot of the bed, and lifted the straw. Beneath it were the things she had laid out.
Two pairs of sandals, two pairs of socks, one vest.
Chen Qingyang was stunned. He instinctively raised a hand to catch his eyeballs—he was afraid they might fall out of his wide-open sockets.
“Well? Didn’t I tell you?” Chen Qiaoyu asked smugly.
She hadn’t dared to take out everything, just the most urgently needed items.
During the day, even around Zhou Xiaoling, she hadn’t dared show too much joy, afraid of standing out and arousing suspicion.
But in front of her younger brother, Chen Qiaoyu finally let herself look a little proud, like a young girl should.
“Are they nice? These are the sturdiest sandals—the seller even tried to cut them with scissors and couldn’t!”
Chen Qiaoyu still found the memory of the sandal seller’s exaggerated demonstration delightful.
Yet, Chen Qingyang’s face showed no trace of happiness. Instead, it grew darker and darker.
“Sis…” When he opened his mouth, there was panic in his voice.
Chen Qiaoyu was stunned. “What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
It wasn’t that crying was the problem—but he didn’t look like he was crying tears of joy.
Chen Qingyang burst into a loud wail, grabbing Chen Qiaoyu and demanding with bitter disappointment, “Sis! I told you I’d find a way to make money! Picking up bricks, hauling bricks, wading into the underground river, catching cicada nymphs… Even if I have to go up the mountain and quarry stone, I won’t let you marry someone you don’t want to marry!”
Seeing the sandals and vest, Chen Qingyang sobbed so hard he could barely breathe. “Why won’t you listen to me! If you don’t want to marry him, then don’t! Don’t marry someone just for the betrothal gifts!”
Through his broken, tearful shouts and accusations, Chen Qiaoyu slowly pieced together what was going on.
She grabbed Chen Qingyang by the ear, half laughing in frustration. “Who said these were betrothal gifts?”
“Aren’t they?” Chen Qingyang sniffled. “If they’re not betrothal gifts, where did all this stuff come from?”
Chen Qiaoyu thought for a moment, then said, “Mom left us some money before she passed.”
“Huh?”
Chen Qiaoyu’s mind raced as she improvised. “Really. Mom secretly left it with me. Before, when we were still living at that house, I didn’t dare take it out. But now that we’ve moved out, I felt safe to get it.”
Chen Qingyang listened, bewildered. “Really?”
“Really.”
Chen Qingyang looked at the items again, starting to believe her. Then he asked, “So can we bring Qingnan and Qiaoli back now?”
Chen Qiaoyu nodded, then shook her head. “Not yet. It’ll take a little longer.”
Qingnan and Qiaoli had been living with their second aunt for five years. At fifteen yuan a month, that came to nine hundred yuan.
Over the years, Chen Qiaoyu had sent just over a hundred yuan. There was still a long way to go.
But Chen Qiaoyu was confident. “If we work hard together, we’ll definitely bring Qingnan and Qiaoli back.”
Chen Qingyang gave a firm “Mm-hmm,” then stuck out his dark, dirty feet and smiled sheepishly at Chen Qiaoyu. “Sis, I didn’t dare tell you, but my sandals broke a long time ago.”
Chen Qiaoyu looked. The strap he had repaired with fire tongs last time had snapped again. Not only that—the sole had broken into three pieces.
Chen Qingyang took off the sandal and turned it over. The section directly under the ball of his foot had worn completely through, and two large blisters had formed on his sole.
The blisters had even rubbed raw and bloody.
Chen Qiaoyu stared at the sandals, her voice a little choked. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Chen Qingyang scratched his head. “What would have been the point? These shoes have been mended a hundred times. They won’t hold together anymore. Telling you would’ve just made you worry for nothing.”
Chen Qiaoyu’s heart ached. She set the new sandals she had bought today on the ground and gestured for Chen Qingyang to put them on. “It’s okay. From now on, I’ll make sure you have new shoes and new clothes to wear.”
Chen Qingyang couldn’t bear to put them on just yet. “Let me go wash my feet first. They’re too dirty.”
So the two of them went out to the yard to wash their hands, feet, and faces.
Zhong Sinian was no longer in the yard. Chen Qiaoyu breathed a sigh of relief.
Once they were clean, they went back inside to try on the socks and sandals.
The socks the elderly couple had said were old and faded—in Chen Qingyang’s eyes, they were the newest, most fashionable thing. He put them on with a pained heart. “Brother Xiangdong’s white socks cost one yuan and twenty cents last time. These red ones must be at least one yuan and thirty!”
Chen Qiaoyu laughed. “Just wear them. Don’t overthink it. I know what I’m doing.”
Chen Qingyang started to take them off. “You wear them, Sis. You’re a girl, and you work in the fields—you need thicker protection. I’m a boy. I’m tougher.”
Chen Qiaoyu picked up the other pair of socks and put them on herself. “There are two pairs, aren’t there? These are fine for me.”
There were actually twenty more pairs in the camphor wood chest!
But Chen Qiaoyu didn’t plan to take those out to wear. She had other uses for them.
Only after putting on the socks did she let herself try on the new sandals.
They fit perfectly.
But Chen Qingyang was a little regretful. “Too bad you didn’t buy them two sizes bigger. I’m still growing. My feet will be bigger next year.”
Listening to her brother, Chen Qiaoyu guessed that this was exactly how she must have come across in front of Zhou Xiaoling and Brother Cheng during the day.
Nervous. Cautious. Small.
That’s what hard times did to people.
Chen Qiaoyu didn’t say anything. She just had Chen Qingyang put on the whole set—new vest, new socks, new sandals. “You look so much better.”
At the end of the day, they were both still children. There wasn’t a kid alive who didn’t love new clothes and new shoes.
Chen Qingyang couldn’t stop touching them. He tried them on once, then took them off and practically hugged them to his chest.
He felt like this might be the happiest day of his life.
But the very next second, his nose twitched involuntarily—he smelled meat!