Chapter Twenty: Returning to the Village

After Han Li finished speaking, Hao Hongmin and Yang Xiuying immediately began chattering away in discussion. The two of them had met not long after boarding the train and had gotten along quite well during the journey. Their hometowns were close by, and many of their daily habits were similar. So, last night, they decided to team up and help each other out—otherwise, they wouldn't have bought a pot together.

In the end, they decided to follow Han Li’s example and build two rooms, though they wanted their bedroom to be a bit larger. After all, both of them would be sleeping on the same kang, and girls always had more things. If the room was too small, it would feel cramped and stifling.

With nowhere in particular to go after leaving the restaurant, and with the stifling heat outside, the three of them headed straight to the meeting place. The old man had already driven the ox cart into the shade and was lying back, resting on it. As they approached, he suddenly opened his eyes with a sharpness that belied his age.

“Sir, have some candy,” Han Li said, a little awkward as he handed over two fruit candies.

The old man took the candies and looked over the things they were carrying. “You three have bought quite a bit. Sit and rest in the shade for a while. Once everyone’s here, we’ll head back.”

“We’re new here, so we need to buy all sorts of things. Otherwise, how are we supposed to live?” Han Li replied. “But honestly, these purchases have just about emptied our pockets. Who knows how we’ll get by after this.”

The old man shot Han Li a look of disdain. “You young intellectuals never say a word of truth. Weren’t you just saying yesterday you’d be building your own house? Now you claim you’re broke?”

“Sir, how did you know about that?” Han Li asked.

The old man just chuckled, pulled his straw hat over his face, and ignored them.

Han Li sat under the tree, idly chatting with Hao Hongmin and Yang Xiuying. Before long, drowsiness overtook him. He was half-asleep when someone shook him awake—Yang Xiuying had come specially to call him onto the cart to grab a seat. Still bleary, Han Li climbed aboard, only to be surrounded by a group of aunties who immediately began barraging him with questions.

“Comrade Han, the three of you bought two brand new iron pots? Isn’t there already a pot in the intellectuals’ courtyard?”

“They’re not bullying you newcomers by refusing to let you use it, are they? That would be too much.”

“Exactly! Why shouldn’t Han Li be allowed to use it? You all live in the same courtyard.”

“You really should tell the village chief. No need to waste money like this—especially since industrial coupons are so hard to get these days.”

“Aunties, please don’t say that. The old and new intellectuals get along just fine,” Han Li replied. “But I plan to build two small rooms for myself, so when the time comes, I’ll be eating separately from everyone else. I happened to have the industrial coupons on me, so I bought everything today while I was in town—otherwise, I’d have to make another special trip.”

Since he would be talking to the village chief about building his house as soon as he got back, Han Li didn’t shy away from telling them. His words, however, immediately sent the aunties into a fresh uproar.

“What, you’re going to build your own house and move out? That must cost a fortune!”

“What’s a couple rooms? That watch on your wrist could probably pay for several houses!”

“Wait a minute, didn’t you two—Comrade Hao and Comrade Yang—also buy a new iron pot? Are you building a house too?”

Yang Xiuying admitted, “Yes, Hongmin and I are building a house together.”

“Tsk, tsk. You two girls kept so quiet, but turns out you’re well off too.”

“We just want to better integrate into rural life,” Han Li said. “Having a place of our own will help us settle down. Only then can we truly fulfill the teachings of our leader—make a home in the new countryside, transform the land, and realize our lofty ideals.”

The aunties were left baffled by Han Li’s words, not quite understanding what he meant. But in those days, any mention of the leader meant you had to show respect, so they tried their best to keep a serious expression. The old man driving the cart simply curled his lip in silence.

Hao Hongmin and Yang Xiuying, seeing Han Li so adeptly stringing the women along, had to lower their heads and cover their mouths to keep from laughing aloud. Thanks to Han Li’s speech, the ride back was much quieter, and he was able to nap again.

When they arrived back in the village, the others had yet to return from the fields. Han Li put away his things, secretly took about a pound of brown sugar from his storage space, wrapped it in oil paper to mimic the shop clerk’s style, tied it with twine, and placed it in his satchel.

After all this, he went to the shaded side of the courtyard to cool off. Who would have thought it would be so hot in the northeast during summer? Weren’t summers here supposed to average around twenty degrees Celsius? The past couple of days must have been at least thirty or thirty-two.

Before long, Hao Hongmin and Yang Xiuying came out from washing up. They patted their satchels at Han Li, signaling that they, too, had everything ready and were waiting to go see the village chief.

Han Li said, “No point going now—we won’t find him. Let’s wait until everyone’s finished with work. In the meantime, we can look around and pick out a spot we like. And before your house is finished, you’ll need to think about meals—will you eat with everyone else, or just the two of you on your own? I’m used to rough living, but don’t follow my example.”

Yang Xiuying blurted out, “Why don’t we eat together with you the next couple of days?”

“That’s not a good idea. Eating with me would be bad for your reputation.”

Hao Hongmin, being steadier, understood Han Li’s point—reputation was important for girls. Still, after what happened last night, she really didn’t want to eat with the others.

“We won’t eat with the group. We’ll go find some firewood and cook for ourselves tonight. If we can’t find any, we’ll see if we can trade with the villagers.”

As they spoke, they walked outside the courtyard, carefully surveying the surroundings. Shanghe Village was flanked by mountains on two sides and bordered by water on another, with the main road to the county town to the east. The west and north were hemmed in by mountains, while to the south ran a branch of the Songhua River. The intellectuals’ courtyard was on the west side of the village, and the nearest household to the east was still more than twenty meters away.

Han Li fancied the open space to the west of the courtyard. If he built his house there, anyone coming from the village would have to pass through the intellectuals’ courtyard first. This would greatly reduce the chance of villagers discovering his private cooking, which was very much to his advantage. No matter the place or time, there were always those prone to jealousy—it was best to avoid trouble wherever possible.