Bai Shanshan didn’t feel comforted in the slightest.
Her brain was so frozen she didn’t even have the energy to overthink.
Wen Yan was simply concerned and didn’t think anything of it, leading Bai Shanshan along the street.
A few grand and beautiful buildings in the Baroque style stood there.
Further ahead were several two- and three-story buildings.
Though their colors weren’t vibrant, they still showcased the city’s prosperity.
Moreover, the people on the streets looked full of life and vigor.
The Northeast was truly the nation’s powerhouse during this era.
Life here seemed much better than in her hometown.
Wen Yan stopped someone on the street to ask for the location of the Chinese medicine cooperative.
After thanking them, she headed straight for her destination.
Because Li Tuan had written her a letter of introduction, Wen Yan also presented a prescription.
The old man at the cooperative glanced at it.
It was just a very common prescription for frostbite—nothing unusual, and they had all the necessary herbs.
Soon, Wen Yan had the medicinal herbs she needed.
After getting the herbs, Wen Yan went to the post office to send a telegram home, letting her family know she had arrived safely.
After paying, she bought some envelopes and stamps, planning to write letters home later.
Once that was all taken care of, Wen Yan went to the general supply cooperative.
Her and Jiang Baizhou’s home was missing quite a few things, so she planned to do some shopping.
Ceramic jars, two large bowls, chopsticks, spoons, a spatula, a small iron pot, a stove set, soy sauce, vinegar, salt, white sugar, and brown sugar.
All in all, the ration coupons and money flowed away like water, drawing glances from many onlookers.
‘What a spendthrift!’
Bai Shanshan’s frozen brain finally started to thaw a bit.
True to form, she started nitpicking, “How can you spend so much?
Who manages a household like this?”
Wen Yan turned back, her bright, dark eyes sparkling with sincerity.
Bai Shanshan’s heart dropped.
Wen Yan said, “I’m spending Jiang Baizhou’s money.
He insisted I take it.”
Bai Shanshan wanted to bite her tongue off right then and there.
Even though she had decided not to pursue Jiang Baizhou anymore, that didn’t mean she wanted to hear this.
‘Isn’t this just a knife to the heart!’
‘The worst part is, it seems like every time, I’m the one who walks right up and lets Wen Yan twist the knife!’
“Could you help me carry some of this…”
Bai Shanshan was still smarting.
She opened her mouth to say, ‘I’m not helping you,’ but before the words could come out, a piece of milk candy was popped inside.
The sweet flavor made Bai Shanshan quickly clamp her mouth shut, afraid she might drop it.
She was the eldest of five children.
Her family was not well-off, and she would be lucky to get even one piece of candy a year.
Wen Yan pulled her hand back.
“Don’t worry, my fingers didn’t touch the candy.
It’s clean.”
Bai Shanshan had a stomach full of retorts she could no longer voice.
With her mouth full of someone else’s candy, she couldn’t very well talk back.
In the end, she stubbornly grabbed the heaviest items—the stove and the ceramic jars—and walked off.
Her neck held high and her body stiff with defiance, she radiated a stubborn energy that made Wen Yan chuckle to herself.
‘Yep,’ Wen Yan thought, ‘Bai Shanshan is definitely the difficult, contrary type.’
The two of them met up with Xiao Zhao.
He came forward to help, walking right past Bai Shanshan to take the things from Wen Yan’s hands.
Bai Shanshan let out a laugh of pure indignation.
“Hey!
Did you not see me?!” she snapped.
Xiao Zhao looked back.
“I saw you.”
“And you didn’t offer to help?”
Xiao Zhao placed the items on the sled and scoffed, “Who made a rule that I have to help you just because I saw you?”
Just as the two of them looked ready to tear into each other, Wen Yan stepped forward, her face serious.
“No fighting!”
One of them was Xiao Zhao, who felt guilty for having misjudged Wen Yan.
The other was Bai Shanshan, who didn’t want Wen Yan to laugh at her.
The two turned their heads away at the same time, let out a “Hmph!” and fell silent.
Wen Yan looked from one to the other, then pulled two fruit candies from her pocket.
“Good,” she said.
“One for each of you.”
A candy was pressed into both Xiao Zhao’s and Bai Shanshan’s hands.
For a rare moment, their thoughts were perfectly in sync as they stared at Wen Yan.
‘Who are you calling “good”?!’
‘Out of the three of us, you’re the youngest one here!’
Wen Yan was already seated on the sled.
She reached into her canvas bag and pulled out three large, white steamed buns.
“Here, have a bun.
We’ll head back after we eat.”
Xiao Zhao immediately refused.
“I can’t.
We’re not allowed to take a single needle or thread from the masses.”
Wen Yan hummed in acknowledgment.
“But you call me Sister-in-Law, don’t you?”
Wen Yan firmly pressed a bun into Xiao Zhao’s hand.
As for Bai Shanshan, she simply took one and started eating, even finding the time to shoot Xiao Zhao a look.
‘What’s with the act!’
The two, who had been on the verge of arguing again, both fell silent after taking a bite of their buns.
‘So good!’
‘So fragrant!’
‘The white flour bun is so soft!’
‘Oh my god, it’s actually filled with meat.’
*
Lunchtime arrived again.
The men sat in rows at the edge of the fields.
Jiang Baizhou opened his lunchbox, taking out a long-cold, hard piece of cornbread and a strip of dried, salted fish—the standard lunch for the Reclamation Team.
Zhang Yingzhang came over, carrying a lunchbox full of hot water.
At noon, they would build a makeshift stove to boil water and warm themselves up.
“Hey, here!”
Zhang Yingzhang nudged Jiang Baizhou with the tip of his boot.
With the cornbread in his mouth and the salted fish in one hand, Jiang Baizhou held up his aluminum lunchbox with the other.
After pouring half a lunchbox of hot water for Jiang Baizhou, Zhang Yingzhang plopped down beside him.
“What?
No special additions from your wife today?”
Zhang Yingzhang asked teasingly.
He’d woken up startled in the middle of the night, suddenly realizing that Jiang Baizhou had been deliberately showing off to him earlier.
He’d been so mad he couldn’t get back to sleep for a good ten minutes.
Jiang Baizhou, with his mind as sharp as a tack, knew the moment he heard the question that Old Zhang had figured it out.
He wasn’t flustered at all.
“I’d hate to keep provoking you.
I’m mainly just trying to cherish our friendship as comrades-in-arms.”
Old Zhang was thoroughly disgusted.
He scooted half a meter away and cursed, “Oh, get lost!
If I ever believe you again, I’ll take your damn surname!”
Jiang Baizhou refused with mock righteousness, “That won’t do.
My son can’t be this ugly.”
Old Zhang’s response was a swift kick in his direction.
Jiang Baizhou waved his hands in surrender.
“Alright, alright, I was wrong.”
Even as he apologized, Jiang Baizhou fumbled in his pocket and pulled out half a pack of cigarettes.
Old Zhang’s eyes lit up, and he scurried right back over.
“Damn!
Where’d you get these?”
Old Zhang reached for them, but Jiang Baizhou pulled them away, raising an eyebrow.
“Never you mind where I got them!
The question is, do you want them or not?”
Old Zhang was a heavy smoker, but with resources being limited, he’d been dying for a cigarette lately.
He grinned slyly.
“Uncle Jiang!”
Jiang Baizhou tossed the pack to Old Zhang with a look of disdain.
“Forget the ‘Uncle’ part.
Just go home and tell your wife to look after my Wen Yan a little.”
Old Zhang was busy sniffing the cigarettes to get his fix.
Hearing Jiang Baizhou’s words, he gave a wicked grin.
“Ooh, listen to you…
‘my Wen Yan’…”
At that, Jiang Baizhou made a grab for the pack.
“If you don’t want it, give it back!”
“No, no, no!
I never said I wouldn’t!
I’ll talk to her as soon as I get back.
Now give me the cigarettes!”
At six in the evening, the Reclamation Team returned.
Jiang Baizhou glanced toward the family housing area.
‘The chimney isn’t smoking?’
‘Is Wen Yan not home?’
Just as Jiang Baizhou was wondering where to find Wen Yan, he heard someone shouting his name frantically.
“Jiang Baizhou!
Jiang Baizhou!”
Li Tuan approached, his intense eyes and booming voice aimed right at Jiang Baizhou.
“You, come with me!”
Jiang Baizhou’s mind raced through a dozen possibilities.
It wasn’t his turn for border defense patrol.
‘Could it be a reconnaissance mission for the reclamation project?’
He followed the imposing, grim-faced Li Tuan to the office.
“Jiang Baizhou, can’t you get your wife under control?!”