Chapter 19: Absurd

After standing by and listening for a while, Li Heng finally understood—the clothes in his mother’s hands were exactly the ones his second sister had been coveting.

His second sister had previously asked the price elsewhere and insisted on 16 kuai; that’s why she took the risk and acted so clumsily.

But tuition had just barely been scraped together—where would there be extra money to buy clothes?

Just as Li Heng began to wonder, Tian Rune had finished inspecting the clothes, stood up, and said to Xue Mei: “Nine kuai. Will you sell it?”

Hearing this, Xue Mei laughed and cried at the same time, picked up the clothes, and held them up: “Run’e, feel the texture, look at the design—top-notch! If I sold it to you for nine kuai, I’d have to drink wind and eat northwest air.”

Tian Rune remained unmoved.

Seeing this, Xue Mei glanced around and, when she noticed no one nearby, lowered her voice: “Twelve kuai. Take it, Run’e—this is my cost price.”

For the sake of our long friendship, I won’t make a single fen off you, and you mustn’t tell anyone.”

Tian Rune took the clothes again, examined them once more, and finally said: “Ten kuai. I’ll pay you next month.”

In this era, a skilled laborer in the countryside earned two kuai a day, and a helper earned one point five; ten kuai was equivalent to five days’ wages—very expensive.

Xue Mei, who sold clothes, was well aware of the Li family’s financial situation, so she showed no surprise at the idea of credit; but having dealt with Tian Rune for years, she trusted her character.

After much hesitation, Xue Mei gave a defeated look and said: “Run’e, today I’m doing this just because Lanlan’s starting school—I’d never have agreed otherwise.”

Saying this, Xue Mei grabbed a bag, packed the clothes, and kept asking:

“Lanlan’s in her final semester this year, right? She’ll be assigned a job soon?”

Tian Rune nodded.

Xue Mei asked, “Do they know where she’ll be assigned?”

Tian Rune shook her head. “Not yet. The girl hasn’t told the family.”

Xue Mei handed her the clothes, then suddenly changed the subject: “All these years, my son’s been talking about how great Lanlan is. He’s graduating this year too. His father used connections to get him a position at the Land Bureau—why not arrange for the two kids to meet sometime?”

Tian Rune didn’t agree, but didn’t refuse outright either; she simply said gently: “You know her temper. I can’t decide for her—I’ll have to ask at home.”

“Ah, better if she’s fiery! I like fiery girls—they won’t get bullied out there.”

Xue Mei’s face beamed with smiles; she’d liked Li Lan from the first glance. But ever since she’d joked about this in front of Li Lan, the girl hadn’t come back to her stall.

Leaving the agricultural market, the mother and son, living on a tight budget, went straight to Shimen Station.

Li Heng didn’t ask about what had just happened.

Because he knew that although his mother always seemed kind and amiable, she was inwardly proud—she didn’t think much of Xue Mei’s son.

Tian Rune was like that; his second sister, with her sky-high ambitions, was even worse.

Every market day, the streets were packed with a sea of heads, shoulder to shoulder, utterly congested; Li Heng and Tian Rune struggled through two streets to reach Shimen Station, nearly suffocating, drenched in sweat.

The rain had long stopped. Seeing his mother chatting with some fellow villagers and preparing to walk home, Li Heng said:

“Mom, I won’t walk with you—I’ll wait for Zhang Zhiyong.”

Tian Rune knew her son’s nature better than anyone—he’d always been lazy, preferring to sit rather than stand; he was probably thinking about the hand-pulled tractor again.

But remembering how close Manzai and Zhiyong were, she said nothing more, only warned:

“Your second sister’s returning to school this afternoon—don’t stay out too late. Come back early.”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry—I’ll be back by noon, I promise.”

He really didn’t want to walk—ten li, more than half mountain paths, steep and muddy with potholes; he’d already suffered through it once coming in.

Why would he want to suffer again?

Watching Tian Rune and the village women chat and laugh as they left, Li Heng found a spot to rest and idly listened to the people around him boast and chatter.

At first, they talked about everything under the sun—astronomy, geography, cosmic stars, national affairs, trivial gossip—nothing was left out; this feeling was long missed, deeply familiar, and Li Heng silently marveled at their breadth of knowledge.

Look—who says peasants are uneducated?

But as he listened longer, he began to sense something was off.

Someone had suddenly steered the conversation to the funeral of Spring Grandma from Shangwan Village, and everyone praised it extravagantly, calling it the most magnificent funeral in the history of this small town, a first-ever event, a huge honor.

An old man sighed with envy: “If I had a funeral like this when I die, I’d be happy to drop dead today.”

A thin man chimed in: “Old Shou, you’d need a son who’s a high-ranking official first! Then you wouldn’t have to worry.”

A fat woman cut in: “I don’t think that’s right—even high officials have troubles. Didn’t Chen Gaoyuan’s precious daughter get raped? I heard she’s brilliant—she’s taking the college entrance exam this year.”

The gossip suddenly turned to himself. Li Heng froze, his heart pounding inexplicably.

He cautiously scanned the crowd—thankfully! Thank God! All unfamiliar faces, not one he recognized.

To test there was no mistake, he deliberately coughed. Everyone turned to look, then quickly looked away and resumed talking, showing no reaction.

Relieved, Li Heng ventured to ask: “Old man, are you talking about the Chen family from Shangwan Village? Who’s got this kind of power?”

The thin man scratched his head and tilted it: “What’s his name again? I forgot.”

The fat woman replied: “Li Heng. They say he’s just like Ximen Qing from the opera—great with words, especially good at seducing women.”

Many women from Shangwan Village say they won’t let their daughters be alone with this Li Heng—they’re afraid they’ll be tricked.”

What the hell is this?

When had he ever seduced women in the village?

Li Heng’s face twitched; he nearly fainted.

Damn it, good deeds never travel far, but bad ones spread a thousand li—turns out his reputation had already surpassed Shangwan Village and reached beyond the town.

At this moment, he felt the Li family’s lecherous old man was utterly pathetic—his long-held top spot on the gossip charts had been stolen by him.

I’m still young! Don’t be so humble, okay?

He understood: his affair with Chen Zijin had spread so widely only because of the Chen family’s prestige.

If the Chens had been ordinary peasants, this would’ve been a different story—the scandal would’ve stayed confined to the village, never stirring any ripple beyond.

Ultimately, it was human nature: to the people of Qianzhen, a backwater mountain town, the Chen family was a noble household, something they could only look up to; now, with this rare chance to gossip after a full meal, they naturally seized it to tear them down.

Rumble! Rumble!

Amid a roar, Zhang Zhiyong drove up in a flashy hand-pulled tractor, its sides packed with people—clearly, this idiot had made a fortune today.

Zhang Zhiyong jumped off the moment he turned off the engine and shouted toward Li Heng:

“Li Heng! Li Heng! Come help!”

Hearing “Li Heng,” the group who’d just been gossiping with him froze in shock!

Silence!

No one spoke!

Eyes widened, they all turned their heads in unison.

Their heads snapped around so fast!

Luckily, Li Heng reacted quickly—in the instant that fool opened his mouth, he spun around and ducked into a narrow alley, vanishing.

“That kid is Li Heng?”

“From Shangwan Village?”

“Of course it is!”

Old Shou, the thin man, the fat woman, and others all sucked in a sharp breath—they’d just been gossiping about the very person himself.

Worse, Li Heng had seemed genuinely interested! How absurd!

Truly, they’d met a ghost in broad daylight!

ps: Overslept

(End of Chapter)