He Yan?
Why did that name sound so familiar?
Wasn’t He Yan the villain in the novel who engaged in illegal profiteering and traded on the black market?
To pay for his mother’s medical treatment, He Yan, whose family had been classified as landlords, not only worked in the fields to earn work points but also secretly hunted in the mountains and bought and resold goods on the black market. That was how he and his widowed mother managed to survive during those years of food and clothing shortages.
He had once been reported by the male protagonist, Lu Dajun, and suffered terribly as a result. From then on, the two became bitter enemies.
Someone as daring and determined as He Yan was naturally among the first to seize new opportunities after the Reform and Opening-Up policies were introduced.
He became self-employed and earned his first substantial fortune. Just as his business was flourishing, He Yan reconnected with his uncle in Hong Kong.
With investment from a Hong Kong businessman, his business gained even greater momentum, and he eventually rose to become a powerful business tycoon.
Because of his old grudge against Lu Dajun, he frequently made trouble for the male and female protagonists behind the scenes after becoming successful.
When Bai Su had read the novel, she had thought of him as a young wolf lurking in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike. His methods were ruthless, and he was particularly skilled at using underhanded tactics against his enemies.
But now that she had become Lihua’s mother, Bai Su found He Yan’s efforts to make life difficult for Lu Dajun incredibly satisfying.
Besides, he really had been a tremendous help yesterday.
When He Yan spoke to her and mentioned Lihua, his expression became somewhat awkward.
Bai Su remembered that later in the novel, when Lihua’s life had become utterly miserable, she had suffered such severe beatings at Liu Laizi’s hands that she eventually fled home with her children. The great villain He Yan had secretly helped her during that time.
When Bai Su first read the novel, she had assumed He Yan only wanted to use Lihua to cause trouble for Lu Dajun.
But now, it seemed possible that He Yan and Lihua had already developed a faint mutual attraction before Lihua was married off to Liu Laizi.
Just yesterday, He Yan had helped her knock Old Madam Lu and her eldest daughter-in-law down the embankment. He had also spoken up for her in front of the brigade leader.
Bai Su carefully studied He Yan as he drove the tractor, and an idea began forming in her mind.
“Xiao He[1]Xiao He (小贺): An affectionate and familiar Chinese form of address. Xiao literally means “little” or “young” and is placed before a surname to address someone younger in a friendly manner. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3694782_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3694782_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });, who are you going to pick up at the town commune?”
“Some educated youths assigned to our brigade. I heard there are also a few people who made mistakes and have been ordered by the authorities to live in the cowshed[2]In this setting, being sent to the cowshed (牛棚) signifies political disgrace and punitive confinement or labor. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3694782_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3694782_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });.”
He Yan chatted casually with her. “The brigade leader is busy supervising spring planting, so he sent me to the town commune.”
“That’s good. You even know how to drive a tractor? What a capable young man.”
Bai Su suddenly asked, “Xiao He, do you have a girlfriend?”
“N-no, I don’t…”
He Yan hadn’t expected her to ask such a question so suddenly, and his face turned bright red.
He cleared his throat and explained, “Auntie, my family’s class background isn’t good.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
Bai Su continued, “Not all landlords and rich peasants in the past were bad people. If someone worked hard and bought a few more plots of land, how did that make them a criminal?”
“Wrong judgments will be corrected sooner or later.”
He Yan was stunned.
Because of his family’s unfavorable class background, very few people in the brigade associated with them, no matter how hard he worked. Young women in particular would avoid him whenever they saw him.
He had never imagined Auntie Bai would actually say that not all landlords and rich peasants were bad people, or question how buying a few more plots of land could be considered a crime.
Warmth spread through He Yan’s heart, and he put aside his usual carefree, slightly roguish manner.
“Auntie, you mustn’t say things like that carelessly.”
“I wouldn’t say them to just anyone. I’m only telling you because you’re not an outsider.”
He wasn’t an outsider?
He Yan’s hands trembled slightly on the tractor’s steering handles.
By the time they reached the fork in the road leading to the town’s secondary school, Bai Su got off the tractor and walked quite a distance away.
He Yan was still calling excitedly after her, “Auntie, once I’ve picked everyone up, I’ll wait for you outside the commune office!”
When Bai Su arrived at the school gate, Guihua was so hungry that she nearly collapsed.
The food her grandmother had prepared for her wasn’t enough. The rations Guihua and Meihua brought to school combined were less than what their second male cousin received on his own. They were still growing, and they spent their days at school so hungry that their mouths constantly watered.
Guihua adored her younger sister. Knowing that Meihua wasn’t getting enough to eat, she figured that if they were both going to go hungry, she might as well be the only one to suffer.
That morning, she had given Meihua her own share of wild vegetable dumplings and coarse-grain steamed buns.
She had thought she could endure the hunger by drinking some cold water and pretending her stomach was full.
But before even one class had ended, she was already ravenous, dizzy, and seeing spots.
When the bell finally rang, Guihua was about to go and fill her stomach with cold water when a classmate stopped her.
“Lu Guihua, someone’s looking for you at the school gate.”
Guihua walked out on unsteady legs. When she recognized the familiar figure standing at the entrance, she excitedly rushed toward Bai Su.
“Mom, what are you doing here?”
“I came to see you.”
Bai Su took the prepared bag of food from her basket and placed it in Guihua’s hands. “The rations we prepared for you and Meihua last time weren’t enough. I happened to have some business at the town commune today, so I brought you some extra food.”
When someone was starving, their sense of smell became exceptionally sharp.
Guihua thought she could smell white-flour steamed buns!
But white-flour steamed buns were something only her eldest and second male cousins were allowed to eat. How could there possibly be white-flour steamed buns in this bag?
She must be too hungry.
She was imagining things.
Unable to wait any longer, Guihua hurriedly opened the bulging cloth bag. When she saw that it was stuffed with white-flour steamed buns and eggs, disbelief spread across her face.
Her eyes grew moist. “Mom, why are there white-flour steamed buns and eggs?”
“Studying takes a lot of mental energy. I want you and Meihua to have enough to eat.”
Looking at the pretty, delicate-featured girl who was as thin as a bamboo pole, Bai Su couldn’t resist reaching out to stroke her head.
“You and Meihua make do with these for now. When you come back to school next week, I’ll prepare something even better for you.”
The fact that their mother had come all the way to school to bring them food was already surprising enough.
But now she was even promising to prepare something better?
Did that mean they would be able to eat white-flour steamed buns and eggs again in the future?
Thinking that she and her sister could finally enjoy the same white-flour steamed buns and precious eggs as their cousins, Guihua clutched the bag of food, her nose stinging with emotion.
Bai Su was worried about making Guihua late for class. She was just about to tell her to take the food bag back to the classroom when a boy a head taller than Guihua suddenly darted out from the side and reached for the bag in her hands.
“Auntie, you came to bring me food, didn’t you?”
Bai Su immediately stepped forward and blocked him. Having failed to snatch the bag, Lu Erjun stared at the food in Guihua’s hands, his eyes gleaming with greed.
“I saw them! There are white-flour steamed buns in that bag Guihua’s holding! Grandma must be worried that studying uses up too much of my energy, so she asked Auntie to bring them to me.”
Lu Erjun lunged forward again to snatch the food bag. Guihua clutched it tightly in alarm, her face turning pale.
She had known it! How could Grandma possibly be so generous as to let them eat white-flour steamed buns and eggs?
Could it be that the food hadn’t been meant for them in the first place?
Mom had always favored their eldest and second male cousins.
If her second male cousin wanted the bag of food in her hands, Mom would surely take his side.
Guihua was already desperately hungry. Seeing that the food she had finally received was about to be snatched away by her second male cousin, tears welled up in her eyes.
But just when she thought Bai Su would tell her to hand over the bag, she was astonished to see her mother, who stood protectively in front of her, shove Lu Erjun away and shout fiercely at him.
“So you still know I’m your aunt? I’m not your mother. Why should I be responsible for feeding you and taking care of your every need?”
“Why should you be the only one allowed to eat white-flour steamed buns? What makes you so special? Is it because you’re ugly, or because you spend your days fooling around at school?”
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