The siblings had walked less than two li along the dirt road when the distinctive “bump-thump-thump, bump-thump-thump” of a three-wheeler sounded behind them.
They stepped to the side and raised their hands to flag it down.
The three-wheeler had, as the name suggests, three wheels. The front was the driver’s cab, open on both sides to let the wind in, while the back was a covered trailer.
Inside the trailer, a few small stools and benches were scattered around—you just hopped on and found a spot.
Chen Qingyang took Chen Qiaoyu’s hand and helped her onto the vehicle. They sat at the tail end and headed off toward Xiaolugou Village to the rhythm of the three-wheeler’s “bump-thump-thump.”
Over the bumpy, potholed mountain roads, the three-wheeler wasn’t particularly fast. It wound back and forth, taking over half an hour to reach Xiaolugou Village.
Chen Qiaoyu handed the driver ten cents and asked when he’d be heading back to Yaojia Village.
“I’ll turn back soon. Catch the second trip—I’ll be returning around seven or eight.”
Chen Qiaoyu thought that worked fine. It was still before five o’clock—plenty of time.
The siblings got off at the village entrance and made their way to their eldest maternal uncle, Yu Laifu’s, house.
Along the way, villagers who recognized them called out greetings: “Qiaoyu, you’re here? Your uncle hasn’t finished work yet. I’ll go to the fields and give him a holler for you!”
Chen Qiaoyu smiled and replied, “Thank you, Auntie!”
This time, her mood was light as she visited Xiaolugou Village. For the first time, she could give something back to her uncle and aunt.
Even if it was just twenty eggs and half a catty of brown sugar, it meant the world.
But little did she know, the atmosphere at her uncle’s house was far from easy.
Her uncle, aunt, and eldest cousin Yu Jianguo were all out working in the fields. Only her second cousin Yu Jianshe and her cousin Yu Xiaohong, who was one year younger than Chen Qiaoyu, were home.
Yu Jianshe was the only one in the Yu family still in school. He was about to start his senior year of high school after the summer break and was at home studying during the vacation.
As soon as Chen Qingyang heard that, he ducked inside. “I’m going to go see Jianshe ge.”
Yu Xiaohong, her face flushed red from the sun, poured Chen Qiaoyu some water and sat with her in the breezeway, enjoying the draft.
Yu Xiaohong had been holding in a lot of frustration for days. The moment she saw Chen Qiaoyu, she started pouring it all out. “…They say they went to the county hospital and had someone check. It’s a girl. The Gao family wasn’t happy about it. Even at seven months, they wanted my sister to get rid of it.”
But the hospital refused. There’s an old saying: “Seven months lives, eight months doesn’t.” A child at seven months could survive outside the womb—there was no way they’d terminate.
Yu Laifu and Tu Huidong went to the Gao family themselves. Out of respect for Yu Dahong, they spoke politely but firmly insisted that the child be kept.
Boy or girl, it had to be born.
There was no excuse for tormenting the mother and child like that.
Yu Xiaohong sat next to Chen Qiaoyu and continued, “But that old hag in the Gao family is a real piece of work. She agreed, but she treats my sister terribly—finds all kinds of ways to torment her! The day before yesterday, when I went to see my sister, she was out in the fields with her big belly.”
Chen Qiaoyu frowned as she listened. “If I’m calculating right, Dahong jie must be eight months along by now. The Gao family has plenty of people—why make an eight-month pregnant woman work in the fields?”
“Exactly! I was so furious I started yelling at them right there,” Yu Xiaohong said, her lips chapped from anger. “I said I was taking my sister home, but the Gaos wouldn’t allow it. They said there’s ‘no such rule.'”
“When I came back and asked my parents, they said there was nothing they could do. My sister still has to live there. We can’t blow things up, or she and the baby will be the ones who suffer.”
Chen Qiaoyu held back her anger and asked, “And what about her husband? What does he say?”
Yu Dahong had gotten married last year. Chen Qiaoyu had met her brother-in-law, Gao Linong, at the wedding. He’d seemed decent enough back then.
Just mentioning him made Yu Xiaohong even angrier. “He’s the reason my sister hasn’t come home. That old witch in the Gao family plays the bad cop, and her husband plays the good cop—bringing her tea and water, massaging her legs, washing her feet…”
That’s how he’d coaxed Yu Dahong into staying.
Upon hearing this, Chen Qiaoyu didn’t know what to do either.
As an unmarried young woman, she had no idea how to handle a situation where one person played the good cop and the other the bad cop.
“So what did my uncle and aunt say?” Chen Qiaoyu asked.
Yu Xiaohong shook her head. “There’s nothing they can say. That’s just how it is in the village. My parents said they’d try to get some brown sugar and eggs, and maybe kill a chicken for her during her confinement month to help her recover.”
Just as she was speaking, Tu Huidong came back carrying a hoe, drenched in sweat and covered in wheat chaff. She shook herself off at the door for quite a while before coming inside.
As soon as she entered, Tu Huidong frowned and asked, “What’s wrong? Did Chen Liang and Yao Jinhua bully you and Qingyang?”
Yu Xiaohong took Tu Huidong’s clothes and hat and stomped her foot in frustration. “Mom! Can’t you just talk nicely?”
Clearly, she cared about Chen Qiaoyu and her brother, yet she always had to sound so harsh.
Tu Huidong dusted off her pants, downed a large bowl of water, then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and said, “Otherwise, why would you suddenly show up for no reason? There’s still work to be done in the fields!”
Chen Qiaoyu understood perfectly well. If her aunt weren’t worried, she wouldn’t have rushed back from the fields so urgently.
Without wasting words, Chen Qiaoyu brought over her basket, pushed aside the vegetables on top, and showed Tu Huidong what was inside.
Tu Huidong was startled at first when she saw the items. Then she stared at Chen Qiaoyu, her face darkening. “Where did these come from?”
She and Yu Laifu had visited the old Chen family house just a while ago.
That old place—if not for the educated youth living there and making some repairs, it would have collapsed long ago. The windows had frames but no glass, and the gaps around the doors were wider than the cracks in a wicker gate.
In just a few days, where could she have gotten so many things?
In an instant, Tu Huidong’s mind raced through every terrible possibility. She nearly grabbed Chen Qiaoyu by the shoulders to interrogate her.
Fortunately, Chen Qiaoyu had prepared her story before coming. She quickly said, “Aunt, don’t worry. I traded for these things. Before Mom passed away, she left a silver ring, remember? I kept it hidden all this time. I only dared to take it out after we split from the family.”
Chen Qiaoyu kept a straight face. “I traded it with Granny Yao for eggs and some money. Since Dahong jie is about to give birth—last time I heard you and Uncle say you were still short on confinement eggs and brown sugar for her—I traded for these things to bring over.”
Tu Huidong frowned at her for a long while. When she looked at the contents of the basket, she had to admit she desperately needed them.
A woman only gives birth a few times in her life. How could a parent not care? They would empty their coffers to ensure a proper confinement month.
Especially since Dahong’s in-laws were awful—her recovery depended entirely on her own family.
But Tu Huidong stared at the basket for a long time before finally shaking her head. “That ring was the last keepsake your mother left you. Take these things back and trade them for it.”
Chen Qiaoyu was stunned. “But Dahong jie—”
“Your cousin has your uncle and me to look after her! We’re better off than you two, no matter what,” Tu Huidong said impatiently. Then she finally told Chen Qiaoyu the truth. “Your brother Jianguo applied for a job at the coking coal plant. He’s been hired. We’re just waiting on the paperwork.”
“Really? That’s wonderful!” Chen Qiaoyu said, genuinely happy.
Tu Huidong curled her lip. “What’s there to be happy about? They say it’s the coking coal plant, but really, he’ll be hauling coal in the mines. Half the month he’ll be underground, barely home for a few days.”
And the mines were dangerous. That was why not many people wanted the job, and why Yu Jianguo got the chance.
But with the family’s current situation, farming alone couldn’t support Yu Jianshe’s education anymore. They needed another source of income, so Yu Jianguo had signed up.
The factory’s benefits were better than the countryside. In his first year as an apprentice, Yu Jianguo would do the hardest labor and earn only seventeen and a half yuan a month. But including meals at the cafeteria, the ration coupons, and New Year’s benefits, it was still better than village life.
The second year, his salary would go up by two yuan, and another two yuan the third year, until he completed his apprenticeship.
Tu Huidong said, “Your brother Jianshe still has a year before college. We need to take care of your sister Dahong first.”
That made sense, but Chen Qiaoyu wasn’t a child anymore. She asked cautiously, “But even if Jianguo ge starts at the factory right away, his first paycheck won’t come in time for Dahong jie giving birth.”
Yu Dahong was already over eight months pregnant. She could go into labor any day in the coming month.