Chapter 16: a look of deep meaning

Wei Shiman looked at her daughter and asked again: “What’s his name?”

Xiao Han said: “Li Heng.”

“Li Heng?”

Wei Shiman furrowed her brows, feeling the name sounded familiar—as if she’d heard it recently—but she couldn’t quite recall where.

After a moment, she asked again: “Where is he from?”

Seeing her mother’s expression, Xiao Han instantly thought of the rumors about Li Heng and Chen Zijin; knowing her mother’s nature—she doted on her own child and would dig until she got to the bottom—she lied offhandedly: “From Dashuitian.”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Han’s mother stopped asking.

But Xiao Han began to gently persuade: “Mom, if his rice is decent, just buy from him.”

Wei Shiman looked at her daughter in confusion. “Didn’t you say you two aren’t close?”

Xiao Han pleaded: “He’s pitiful. According to Yingwen, his father has spinal disease and can’t do heavy work.”

“His mother works the fields to support the whole family, with no steady income. He’s probably selling rice to raise tuition for the day after tomorrow.”

Wei Shiman asked: “Isn’t Yingwen from Shangwan Village? How does she know all this?”

Her eyes, brimming with spiritual energy, flickered slightly. Xiao Han, without blushing, gently pressed her two index fingers together and said:

“Dear Mom, this is Shangwan Village, this is Dashuitian—there’s just one mountain between them. Very close.”

It was true. Wei Shiman believed it somewhat.

Her daughter rarely asked for anything. Thinking of how pitiful it was that a promising student from No. 1 High School couldn’t afford school, she immediately halted her steps, turned around, and returned to Old Li’s stall.

Seeing the mother and daughter circle back, Tian Rune instantly snapped to attention, putting on her best demeanor to greet them.

Wei Shiman ignored Tian Rune’s enthusiasm. She bent down, grabbed a handful of rice, spread it in her palm to examine it closely, then brought it to her nose to sniff. Finally, she pointed at the four sacks.

She asked: “How much do these weigh altogether?”

Tian Rune answered: “Two dan. One hundred and eighty-five jin total.”

Wei Shiman asked: “How much per jin?”

Tian Rune instinctively quoted: “Nineteen fen.”

But the moment she said it, she regretted it. It was nearly noon, and not a single grain of rice had sold.

If she lost this most likely buyer because she priced too high, she’d beat herself up.

Hearing the price, Wei Shiman said nothing at first. Then, she methodically checked the rice in the other three sacks.

In the waiting, the process felt excruciatingly long.

Just as Tian Rune was about to say something to seal the deal, Wei Shiman finally moved.

She put the rice back in the sacks, stood up, and brushed the white rice dust off her hands. “I’ll take all four sacks.”

Tian Rune froze. An unexpected windfall—those eight words brought her overwhelming joy.

She’d thought she’d be lucky to sell one sack. She never expected this fashionable woman to be so quick—not even haggling, buying all four sacks at once. She’d never met such a decisive buyer.

Li Heng was happy too, but not with his mother’s exuberance. He looked at his classmate in confusion.

Meeting his gaze, Xiao Han turned her head away without a word.

Seeing this, Li Heng didn’t mind. That’s just how she was—when she was in the mood, she’d acknowledge you; when she wasn’t, you were invisible to her.

Tian Rune was a conscientious person. Still elated, she said to Wei Shiman: “Where do you live? It’s raining—let us deliver the rice to your home.”

That would be wonderful. Wei Shiman immediately gave her address.

Hearing they lived at the Zhenzheng Prefecture, Tian Rune gave the mother and daughter a few extra glances, then bent to shoulder the sacks and told her son to follow.

The Zhenzheng Prefecture was across town from the farm machinery station, about six hundred meters away—first up a gentle slope, then down.

“Thank you both so much. Please put the rice in this room.”

On the second floor, she unlocked the door, weighed the rice, and led them ahead.

She took them to the storage room at the very back.

After the rice was settled, Wei Shiman began paying, and also instructed her daughter to pour two cups of warm water for Tian Rune and Li Heng.

“Four sacks, one hundred and eighty-five jin total. Nineteen fen per jin—that’s thirty-five yuan and fifteen fen, right?”

Wei Shiman casually picked up an abacus from the coffee table, swiftly calculated, and arrived at the total.

Tian Rune mentally recalculated—the answer matched. But to be safe, she glanced at her son.

On the way here, Li Heng had already calculated it several times. He nodded immediately.

Receiving her son’s confirmation, Tian Rune smiled and said to Wei Shiman: “Forgive my clumsiness—it’s exactly that.”

After both sides confirmed, Wei Shiman counted out three ten-yuan bills, five one-yuan bills, then pulled out two coins—one ten-fen and one five-fen.

“Count it.”

“No need. It’s correct.”

Just as payment was settled, Xiao Han brought over two cups of tea. She handed one to Tian Rune and extended the other toward Li Heng.

She gently warned: “Auntie, this tea is a bit hot. Drink slowly.”

“Oh, thank you, girl.”

Tian Rune accepted the tea, politely thanked her, then casually set it on the coffee table without drinking.

Li Heng did the same.

Because of the rain, the mother and son were muddy, utterly out of place in Xiao’s spotless home. If they drank this tea, the host would likely boil the cups to disinfect them afterward.

If the host had a cleanliness obsession, they might even throw the cups away.

Putting herself in their shoes, Tian Rune—who preferred cleanliness—decided not to drink at all, to avoid causing trouble.

With the money safely in her pocket, after brief pleasantries, the mother and son took their leave.

Wei Shiman saw them to the door. Just as she was about to close it, she suddenly asked Tian Rune:

“Sister, where are you from? Your rice looks good—I’ll buy from you again when I run out.”

Though they were roughly the same age, Wei Shiman, working in a government office and well-maintained, looked ten years younger than Tian Rune—so calling her “sister” came naturally.

The rice seller loved hearing praise for her rice. Tian Rune beamed: “From Shangwan Village.”

“If you need more, come find me at the market beside the farm machinery station. Unless something’s wrong at home, I’m usually there on market days.”

“Good, I’ll remember. Take care on your way.”

Watching Li Heng and his mother disappear down the stairwell, Wei Shiman closed the door, walked to the sofa, sat down, and looked at her daughter with a deeply meaningful expression.

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(End of chapter)