Chapter Eighty-Five: Climbing Aboard for the Gossip

While Han Li was listening to the old woman talk, he noticed that Zhang San had actually shown up today.

Ever since he began hauling manure and making fertilizer, he had hardly come by at all. Could it be that he had already finished the task of twenty baskets of dung?

But what was with all those educated youths behind him? Why did each one look as though he wanted nothing more than to tear him apart?

That question was cleared up after the three great figures of Shanghe Village arrived and both sides were made to confront one another.

Han Li cast Zhang San a slightly sympathetic glance. If the boy had no extraordinary stroke of fortune, he was more or less finished.

To offend so many people all at once, and among companions who slept on the same kang, did he not fear something happening to him in the night?

Besides, since Zhang San had chosen such a way to make his name, any leader would keep a wary eye on him in his heart.

At the moment, Zhang San rather had the air of Zhuge Liang contending in argument with a host of scholars, meeting the crowd head-on without the slightest disadvantage.

Compared with the village head and the brigade leader, who only shook their heads faintly, the onlookers in the village were greatly entertained.

All the while, they kept evaluating the lot of them, saying they lacked the proper gestures, tone, and movement, so the performance still fell a little short.

Many people even wished the two sides would actually come to blows, because an argument like this could never produce a victor.

Seeing that they only talked and did not fight, the three great figures of Shanghe Village felt somewhat disappointed.

People like this might one day strike you from behind; there was not a single one of them that Shanghe Village wanted.

If they started fighting now, the village would have an excuse to send them all back.

Village Head Zhao stepped forward then, loudly cutting them off before he said:

“About what happened yesterday, our position remains the same. If you are dissatisfied, you can report it. If you have a problem to raise, the village will certainly give you leave. Whoever wants to go, I’ll approve it on the spot. I’ll approve it any time. Anyone want to go?”

At a time like this, only a fool would say, "Give me leave and I’ll go report you."

So Zhang San and his opponent both fell silent, while the others, instead, began jeering from the side, egging them on to go up and ask for leave.

Brigade Leader Liang said, “I think your daily labor quota is just too small, which is why you have the leisure to stir up all this nonsense all day long. From now on, all of you will be assigned to First Squad. Whoever does poorly will not get even half a point. The squad leader is to inspect you strictly, and anyone who damages crops or farm tools will have points deducted according to the regulations.”

Though Zhang San was displeased, he said nothing. After all, the brigade leader had not mentioned the few baskets of dung he still owed.

For the moment, the matter ended there. Those who were to work went to work, and those who were to slack off continued slacking off.

But everyone knew it was not truly over, and many had already begun guessing how things would develop next.

After all, it was a rather dull era, and this matter could become one of the few amusements people had.

Han Li spent today as usual in a dawdling haze. After work, he did not go up the mountain to gather wild goods, nor did he go down to the river to catch fish and shrimp.

He stayed at home fiddling with his bathhouse. With the help of decomposition, Han Li could handle such work with astonishing speed, precision, and perfection.

Recently, he had already erected the outermost wooden wall, all to ensure the bathhouse would retain heat in winter.

At least half a meter of earth had to be packed between the two layers of wooden wall. But just as he was about to place the inner boards, he suddenly slapped his forehead, cursing himself inwardly for leaving his brains somewhere unknown.

Although decomposition could turn wood into the exact shape and size he wanted, the most basic camouflage still had to be done.

The outer wooden wall, made of peeled logs, was nothing special; anyone with a knife at home could manage that.

But how was he going to explain the smooth, even boards of the inner wall? He could not possibly say he had carved them out with his fingernails.

So he needed proper woodworking tools in hand. That way, even if others later learned about the bathhouse, when they saw the walls were smooth and neat, they would only think he had been gifted with unusual talent and would not suspect anything else.

Han Li washed his hands, slung his bag over his shoulder, and headed to the village carpenter’s home.

There were quite a few rules in those days, and he did not know whether craftsmen would lend out their tools.

So Han Li used the old method: first he paved the way with sugar candies and won over the carpenter’s children.

At first, the carpenter refused to lend them out, perhaps because he was reluctant to part with his tools, or perhaps because he was wary of some upstart coming to steal his rice bowl.

Han Li said he had simply picked up a lot of wood in the mountains and wanted something to do after work, assuring him that he was not trying to steal anyone’s business.

A man softened by favors is easy to persuade, and the carpenter’s wife and children all spoke up for Han Li.

With help from all sides, he successfully rented a spare set of saws, planes, and other tools from the carpenter.

Though the carpenter said they were things he had used before and were now quite difficult to work with, Han Li did not care at all. He only needed them as a cover; whether they worked well had nothing to do with him.

He thanked the carpenter over and over, promised to cherish the tools, and said he would pay full price if anything were damaged.

Only then did Han Li return home humming an unknown little tune. Thinking of the gradual improvement in his life, he felt in a truly good mood.

But when he passed by the educated youths’ compound, he heard a shrill quarrel erupting from within.

At first, Han Li had intended to go in and watch the fun, but remembering what Hao Hongmin and Yang Xiuying had said yesterday, he forcibly stopped in his tracks.

If they brought up the two opposing stances again, then whichever side he chose would be awkward.

So for matters like this, he might as well either listen from home from afar, or wait to hear the later gossip from someone else.

Though such gossip was a little stale, the flavor would certainly be just as delightful.

When Han Li returned home, he did not rush to build the bathhouse, nor did he hurry to cook.

He pulled up a stool, brewed himself a tin cup of wild chrysanthemum tea, and sat in the courtyard with the cup in hand, eating gossip from afar.

In such a monotonous life, finding a little pleasure was no easy thing.

Though the voices were somewhat muffled, they still could not stop Han Li’s heart from seeking ways to pass the time.

And at that very moment in the capital, Han Li’s mother had received the parcel he mailed back.

She was opening it with the family, and upon seeing the things her son had sent home, tears could no longer be held back.

There were not only dried rabbit and dried chicken, but all kinds of mountain produce and mushrooms, birch fungus, yellow eels, and other things beneficial to the body.

As Han Li’s mother sighed at how her son had grown up, she suddenly began to cry.

Her crying drew the three Han sisters into tears as well, while Father Han sat to the side, smoking heavily.

He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he could only let it be.

Ever since their son left, his wife had been talking about him every day; now that she had cried it out, she would feel better in her heart.

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