Chapter 16
The first wave of this year’s harvest was over. Next was the rice harvest, which wouldn’t be until the end of September and early October. She wouldn’t be around for that.
At the thought of not having to cut rice, Ye Qingzhi almost laughed out loud.
“Mama, are you happy because Uncle He is coming back?” Wei Anmin asked, seeing his mother humming a tune as she packed.
Ye Qingzhi bent down and tapped his nose. “Yes, Mama is very happy.”
Of course she was happy that He Qiming was coming back. It meant she could leave this place and never have to work in the fields again.
Half a month of intense farm work had nearly killed her.
It was a good thing she had a “golden finger” from her transmigration. Despite the wind and sun, her skin hadn’t gotten darker; instead, it had become fairer and more tender.
Huh, this is the wine pot her grandmother gave her when the original owner got married. It’s made of aluminum, with four matching cups. I’ll take this. I can have a few drinks with He Qiming later. It would be even better if I could make some good friends in the military family compound.
What’s this? Something Wei Jiancheng carved from a tree root?
Throw it away. Bad luck.
Ye Qingzhi sorted through everything in the house. She had thought there was a lot, but in fact, there wasn’t much.
After all, the family was poor. Many of the clothes and shoes were no longer wearable, especially not to a military base. That wouldn’t be frugal; that would be embarrassing for He Qiming.
But she didn’t throw them away. There were families in the village who were even poorer than her, where several children had to share one pair of pants. They certainly wouldn’t refuse them.
“Mama, are we throwing all these away?” Wei Anmin asked, frowning at the still-wearable clothes. “Mama, even though Uncle He has a salary, we should still save where we can.”
Ye Qingzhi poked his forehead. “I know. But these clothes have too many patches. It would be embarrassing for Uncle He if we wore them out. You know how some people in the village love to gossip.”
Beside them, Wei Anjie didn’t care about any of that. He was hugging his new clothes, grinning foolishly.
“Mama, are all these new clothes for us?”
There weren’t that many, just two sets of single-layer clothes and two sets of cotton-padded jackets. But for the two brothers, they had almost never worn new clothes.
He Qiming had written in his last letter that he had gotten some yarn. Ye Qingzhi had told him not to mail it. First, she didn’t have time to knit sweaters. Second, she was going to the base soon. Why go through the trouble of mailing it back and forth? It was a waste of money and effort.
So, she had made one thin set and one thick set for each of them. Because there wasn’t enough cotton, He Jingyan and Yangyang, like Anmin and his brother, each got two sets.
She had made two extra pairs of pants for Yangyang. The little boy still wet the bed at night. Without extra pants, they wouldn’t have enough to change.
Most of the things in the house were packed. If there was anything she was reluctant to leave behind, it was the vegetables in the private plot and the orange trees in the front yard.
“I really wish I could dig up these two orange trees and take them with me,” she said, looking at the oranges hanging on the branches, feeling a sense of loss.
“Can we?” Wei Anjie asked, his eyes shining.
She shot him a sideways glance. “Of course not.”
She had already sold the house to Second Great-Uncle. What would it look like if she dug up the two orange trees now?
But He Qiming’s house also had a yard. She would find two orange saplings to plant later, and also a loquat tree, a plum tree, and a grapevine. She would plant them all and have He Dali help look after them.
The saplings wouldn’t cost anything, and they weren’t hard to care for. In the future, if she had the chance, she would eat the fruit herself. If not, she would give it to Yang Fuzhen, He Qiming’s aunt, and Auntie Ye.
As for the herbs in the yard, she would dry some and dig up a few to take to the base. She could plant them in pots and move them indoors in the winter. They should be able to survive.
“Mama, what’s next?” Wei Anmin asked, looking at the much emptier house, suddenly feeling a bit lost.
“We’re going to pick vegetables. The sun has been good these past few days. We’ll dry them all,” Ye Qingzhi said, putting on a straw hat, picking up a basket, and leading the two children to the fields.
The two brothers exchanged a look. They wanted to say that they were only moving to Dayang Village, which wasn’t far. The vegetables could be left in the fields. There was no need to dry them all. But their mother was already in full swing, so they could only follow along and work.
“Qingzhi, what are you planning to plant after you cut down the cabbages?” Auntie Li asked, also picking vegetables. She was puzzled to see Ye Qingzhi cutting down the cabbages one by one.
“I’ll plant some garlic sprouts. Oh, your winter melons are so big! They look like a different variety,” Ye Qingzhi said, peeking over.
“They are. My relative brought them from another province. They say they’re tastier than our local ones and also more sun-resistant. I asked for two seeds, and I didn’t expect them to grow so well,” Auntie Li said happily.
Sun-resistant? An idea struck Ye Qingzhi. “Sister, did you save any seeds? Could you give me a few?”
“I did. I saved a lot of seeds this year. Do you want any others? I have many vegetable seeds that other families don’t have,” Auntie Li said proudly.
A relative of hers was a truck driver and could travel out of the province, so he would bring back some things that weren’t available locally.
Of course, Ye Qingzhi was delighted. She asked for some of every kind of seed. After she joined the army, she would try to plant them all.
There were over a dozen large cabbages. It took the three of them three trips to carry them all back.
Drying the cabbages took another whole afternoon. If Auntie Li hadn’t come to deliver the seeds, Ye Qingzhi wouldn’t have even noticed that the sun had set.
“Why did you bring them yourself? Thank you so much, sister. I’ve also saved some seeds. Do you want any?” Ye Qingzhi asked, taking the large bag of seeds and warmly inviting her in.
“No need. You take these for now. If you don’t know how to plant them, you can ask me,” Auntie Li said, waving her hand. After some more small talk, she left.
Ye Qingzhi opened the bag and looked. Besides winter melon seeds, there were also loofah, bottle gourd, chayote, and Malabar spinach seeds. Auntie Li had given her a generous amount of each.
She thought for a moment. The oranges in the front yard would be ready to pick in a few days. She would give some to Auntie Li as a thank you for the seeds.
After putting away the seeds, she was about to wash her hands and cook when she saw Auntie Ye running over.
“Qingzhi, don’t cook. Come on, Second Great-Uncle has invited the brigade leader and the village party secretary for dinner. He asked me to call you and the children over too.”
Second Great-Uncle inviting the brigade leader and the village party secretary for dinner? It must be about buying the house. She hadn’t expected him to invite her as well.
“I won’t go. I’ll go over after I’ve eaten,” she said. She didn’t want to go. Even if there was a feast, she would rather eat cornbread at home.
“Come on. Second Great-Uncle’s house is having a big meal today,” Auntie Ye said, thinking it was just a meal.
“I’m really not going. You should go, Auntie. We’ll come over after we’ve eaten,” Ye Qingzhi refused again.
Seeing that she really didn’t want to go, and knowing her personality, Auntie Ye had no choice but to go by herself.
After eating, Ye Qingzhi thought for a moment and decided to take the two children with her. They were old enough to remember things. Since they were selling the house, they should be present.
When they arrived, the brigade leader and the others were still drinking and boasting loudly, letting out deafening laughter from time to time.
“Qingzhi is here! Come quickly,” Auntie Ye said, waving them over when she saw them.
“Qingzhi, why didn’t you come for dinner? Have some more. I’ll get you some chopsticks,” Second Great-Aunt said, already bringing over three pairs of chopsticks and giving each of the two boys a piece of duck meat.
Seeing the two children looking at her, Ye Qingzhi smiled and nodded. “Grandma gave them to you. Go on, eat.”
Ever since she got engaged to He Qiming, he had been sending her money and tickets every month. She hadn’t been stingy. She had used all the oil and meat tickets. During the busy farming season, when every family was cooking meat, she had rendered a pot of lard.
She had used the upper pork belly and hadn’t rendered it too dry. The cracklings were fragrant and crispy. She had even asked He Qiming’s aunt to send some to his two children, though she didn’t know if they had gotten to eat it.
Her own two boys, however, had not been deprived. After the busy season, they had both gained some weight.
So, they weren’t as greedy for meat now. Of course, it was always better to have meat.
“Jiancheng’s wife, why do you want to sell the house? You have two sons. What will they do when they grow up?” the village party secretary asked slowly, smoking his long-stemmed pipe.
Ye Qingzhi pressed her lips together and lowered her head. “I can barely make it through the present. How can I think so far ahead?”
She lovingly stroked her two sons’ heads. “If I sell the house, I can raise them. As long as they grow up to be strong and healthy and are willing to work hard, will they have to worry about not having a house?”
“Good! Well said!” the brigade leader said, slapping the table in approval.
The deputy leader glanced at him, then turned to her. “Where will you live then? You should know, there are no spare houses in the village.”
“I’m planning to remarry. Before I find someone suitable, I’ll take the children to my parents’ house first,” she said in a low voice.
Her parents’ home was in another township. It was a day’s walk away, not too close, but not impossibly far either. But it had been so long since Wei Jiancheng had died, and no one from her family had come. It was clear they didn’t want to get involved with them.
Now that she wanted to go to them with her children, it probably wouldn’t be that easy.
But that was her own business. They were just asking out of politeness. When it came down to it, they would definitely side with Second Great-Uncle. They just hoped she wouldn’t regret it.
“It’s good that you have a plan,” the party secretary nodded and took a few more puffs from his pipe. “It’s getting late. Let’s get the contract signed so we can all go home to bed.”
The brigade leader and the deputy leader nodded. Second Great-Uncle took out a pre-written agreement and handed it to the brigade leader, asking him to read it out loud in front of everyone.
“Jiancheng’s wife, if you have no problem, put your fingerprint here,” the brigade leader said after reading, turning to look at her.
It sounded fine. She believed that the brigade leader, the deputy leader, and the party secretary wouldn’t play any tricks. Besides, Wei Youfu was also there. She trusted him, or rather, she trusted Auntie Ye.
“No problem,” she nodded.
Both parties put their fingerprints on the contract. Then, Second Great-Aunt took out a stack of money and gave it to her. She counted it once and asked Ye Qingzhi to count it as well.
“No need. How could I not trust Second Great-Uncle and Second Great-Aunt?” Ye Qingzhi had been watching as she counted. Four hundred and thirty, not a cent more, not a cent less.
“I know you trust us, but you should still count it, just in case there are any problems later,” Second Great-Uncle said.
“That’s right. Don’t be embarrassed. Money matters should be clear,” the others chimed in.
Ye Qingzhi had no choice but to count it in front of them. It was exactly four hundred and thirty yuan.
“Four hundred and thirty, exactly. Second Great-Uncle, Second Great-Aunt, the house is yours from now on. But you’ll have to let me stay for a few more days. I’ll move out as soon as I can.” He Qiming would be back in three days. They would pretend to meet on a blind date, then get their marriage certificate and move to Dayang Village.
“No problem. You can stay as long as you need,” Second Great-Aunt said, grinning from ear to ear as she looked at the agreement.
Ye Qingzhi put on a bitter smile and said to the others, “Since all the uncles are here, I’d like to trouble you to be witnesses for one more thing.”
“Go on,” the party secretary nodded.
Ye Qingzhi glanced at Auntie Ye and told them about selling the private plot to her.
“What? You’re selling your private plot too?” The party secretary and the brigade leader both frowned.
Second Great-Aunt’s eyes lit up. “Jiancheng’s wife, if you’re selling your private plot, you can sell it to us!”
In the countryside, people could kill for a piece of land. This showed how important land was. And now, Ye Qingzhi was selling her private plot. This was even more shocking than selling her house.
“I’m temporarily selling it to Uncle Youfu. When Anmin and the others grow up, if they come back to the village, we’ll buy it back,” she said with an embarrassed smile, explaining to the party secretary and the others.
They instantly understood. She was saying she was selling it to Wei Youfu, but in reality, it was to protect the plot. After all, everyone knew about her relationship with Auntie Ye.
They had been wondering. No matter how foolish she was, she wouldn’t sell her land. It turned out she had a plan.
That’s right. Wei Youliang was still alive, and besides him, there were other relatives. If she gave it to an outsider like Wei Youfu instead of a relative, these people would curse her behind her back.
But if she lent it to these relatives, they would eventually treat it as their own, and it would be very difficult to get it back.
Selling it to Wei Youfu was different. He had paid for it, so even if the other relatives were unwilling, there was nothing they could do.
“Alright. Have you written the agreement?” the party secretary was the first to agree.
Wei Youfu quickly nodded and took out three identical agreements from his pocket.
They didn’t know, but he knew very well that Ye Qingzhi was going to marry into Dayang Village and was planning to transfer her children’s household registrations as well. So, there would be no dispute over this plot of land. It would be his from now on.
They put their fingerprints on it. There were three copies. Wei Youfu and Ye Qingzhi each got one, and the third was kept in the village for safekeeping.
As for the fact that Wei Youfu didn’t give her any money, the brigade leader and the others just assumed they had already discussed it and didn’t interfere.
With everything settled, Ye Qingzhi stood up to leave with her two children.
“Qingzhi, I’ll walk you,” Auntie Ye said, worried about her carrying so much money.
On the way, she told Ye Qingzhi that she would go to He Qiming’s aunt’s house with her the next day. The day after that, she would take her to his house in Dayang Village. Then, when he came back, they could start the marriage process.
“Alright. Thank you for everything, Auntie,” she said gratefully.
“What are you saying? Hurry up and go inside,” Auntie Ye said, waving her hand.
Ye Qingzhi looked at the two agreements and the four hundred and thirty yuan. She was one step closer to her plan. It was wonderful.